Possessing Snake
by Kerianya
Summary: After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?
1. Chapter 1 - Ace - Needs

**Possessing Snake**

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 1 – Ace – Needs**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: M/M, explicit sex, abuse, (semi) non-con.**_

Ace's dad talked a lot of shit thanks to the booze, but there was always one thing he would say that taken root in his son's head.

"_A Man's Man has a Man's Needs, and a Man's needs...need satisfyin'..."_

His dad's needs always seemed to involve more booze these days – the look on his Mom's increasingly sour face was more than enough to tell him that _her_ needs were all but forgotten.

Yet, Ace took the words to heart. After all, he saw himself as becoming a _Man's Man_, and since he had discovered the joys of one particular need, he wanted to satisfy it as much as possible.

He had no shortage of girlfriends (despite his green skin) to satisfy himself with, but sometimes the urge just came upon him – thanks be to teenage hormones and boundless energy – when none of them were around.

Lucky for him then, that he had _someone _who was always willing and able to help him out in those situations.

He stood in the doorway of their Junk-yard hideout, while Lil' Arturo, Grubber and Big Billy were in front of him, deciding the best route to take to get pizza. Apparently, Snake had seen them digging up the side walk in front of the bridge they would usually take, something to do with the water pipes.

Snake was leant against the wall, arms crossed, listening to the conversation and occasionally replying to questions thrown at him. Yes, it was definitely being dug up. Yes, Billy, there was a hole. Yes, it was big, that's what happens when roads get dug up. No, Billy, you couldn't jump across it.

"Ah, fer cryin out loud!" Groaned Ace, wanting them to leave so he could get Snake alone. "You take a left instead of right and walk _round_ – it ain't _hard!_"

_More than can be said fer me..._

He could feel his pants tightening, fortunately not enough to be obvious, and everything seemed to get that little bit hotter as he felt his body make its demands known.

Seemingly oblivious, Snake stood up straight and gestured in the right direction with a gentle tilt of his head.

"C'mon, I'll show yousss guysss the way he meansss..."

"Hold up!" Ace snapped. "They're stupid, not babies, Snake!" He gestured, jerking his thumb harshly in the same direction. "You guys go on ahead – Snake an' me gotta do something first."

Arturo frowned, and Grubber looked uncomfortable. Big Billy's attention was focussed on the direction Snake had gestured in, no doubt thinking about the pizza that waited there. Ace didn't like the looks that the other two were giving him.

He didn't look at Snake – it didn't matter, it wasn't like he was going to say _no_. He never did.

"Got somethin' ta say?" He snapped. Arturo shrugged.

"Shouldn't we, err, wait for you and Snake, Boss?"

Ace's eyes widened a little at the thought of the other three sat patiently outside while he fucked Snake, then wondered at the tone in Arturo's voice.

He was sure that the others didn't know what he got up to with Snake, though they had been doing it for about a year now. There was a knowing look in Arturo's eye, and Ace did _not_ like it.

"Why the fuck would you wait for us, ya moron?"

"What if you take ages?" He glanced across at Snake, and Ace could swear he was trying to hold down a smirk. Ace turned to look at his lover, but the slender teen was idly picking at his fingernails, so he turned back with a glare.

"Just do what I fucking say!" He snapped. "If you manage to get there without getting lost – you _wait_! Think you can remember that?"

"Well..."

"Youss heard the Bosss, Arturo."

Snake was at Ace's side, his lips curled in a soft smile as he looked down at Arturo. For a second the two seemed to share some kind of exchange, because the short teen nodded.

"'Kay. C'mon you guys."

He turned, and thankfully the other two followed him without any other protest. Ace glared after them, then went back into the shack. He saw Snake stood outside, watching the others as they left the junk-yard.

"Get in here, babe!" He shouted, using the affectionate term to try and disguise his irritation. He didn't need to use it, given that Snake's obedience was pretty much assured, but not using it meant he'd have to put up with his lackey's 'kicked puppy' look the whole time. It was a bit of a turn off.

As he expected, Snake turned and joined him inside.

"Yess, bossss?" He cocked his head. "What wass it youss wanted to-_mmh!_"

Ace cut him off by crushing their lips together in a possessive kiss and forced him up against the wall with a bump. He pressed his body against Snake's, grinding his erection enthusiastically against him. Snake gave a little moan in response, resting his hands on his shoulders, and Ace pulled back with a smirk to admire his handiwork so far.

Underneath his beloved hat and curtains of black hair, Snake had turned out to be...kinda hot. In recent months his previously lank hair had become thick and shiny, and now grew past his shoulders and halfway down his slim back. Ace loved grabbing and pulling it while they fucked, and Snake never protested, so he had to like it too...

His part-Japanese ancestry had blessed him – minus the nose - with a pretty, kinda girlish face; his reptilian eyes softened by their wide oval shape and long lashes. His ears, though always hidden beneath hair and hat, were dotted with the studs and rings of his many piercings.

Then there was his mouth...good god – Ace loved that fucking _mouth!_

Most people assumed that Snake walked around with a permanent wide grin plastered on his face. That was deliberate, as he always grinned when they were out in public to intimidate anyone thinking of challenging them. Even the fucking PowerPuff bitches took pains to avoid looking at it for too long – it made Snake look psychotic. When the gang were being quiet, Snake looked completely different. It would be quite easy to mistake him for a girl in the right light, hence the attraction Ace had. When not stretched, his black – thanks to his lipstick – lips were almost pouted, and his real smiles and smirks were much prettier.

Right now, with his lipstick a little smudged, Snake looked _hot! _No real surprise that Ace was turned on even more Snake panted a little to regain his breath.

What was a surprise was seeing his lips twist into a smirk, and chuckling.

"Oh, rightss – you want _that_sss!" He rolled his eyes as he spoke, but made no move to get away.

All the same...

_Thwack_!

Ace's fist slammed into the flesh below Snake's left eye, eliciting a hiss of pain from the younger teen that wiped the smirk from his face. Taking a hand from Ace's shoulder, he pressed the tips of his fingers against the damaged flesh and winced. When he looked back at Ace, nothing but hurt submission remained.

"Got anythin' else you wanna get bitchy wit me about?" Ace sneered, irritated further by the delay in dealing with the still-growing bulge in his pants. Snake's eyes lowered – briefly pausing at his boss' crotch – and shook his head meekly.

"Sssorry Accce." He replied, simply surrendering when Ace pulled him into another kiss. His hands rested cautiously back on Ace's shoulders, which the older teen allowed for a while. After a minute, he grew tired of their tame positioning, and grabbed hold of Snake's wrists. This time, Snake made no protest as his hands were pulled down to the waistband of Ace's pants, and unfastened them swiftly. Ace groaned into their kiss at the sudden freedom, letting his own hands drop to Snake's hips.

Snake had started ditching his shorts – citing the cold weather – and had taken to wearing black skinny jeans in their place. Ace couldn't deny that he appreciated the way they clung to Snake's hips and ass, running his hands over them hungrily. But, they were so much more difficult to get off!

He got them unfastened quickly, but pushing them down took a bit more effort. He broke from the kiss with frustration.

"For fuck's sake!" He snapped, earning a puzzled look. "Can't yous wear a bigger size or somethin'? These things are, like _fused_ to ya!"

"I thoughtsss youss liked them tightsss." Snake panted, dropping to his knees before Ace could respond. His thin fingers pulled Ace's aching cock from his boxers – earning him a groan – and leant forward to press his lips in a soft kiss against the head.

Ace growled, reaching down to push Snake's head forward as the younger's forked tongue flickered out to tease him, before being surrounded in the warmth of Snake's mouth. The younger teen wasted no time and started working his head back and forth. Ace indulged him for a while, then reached beneath Snake's hat to grab a fistful of hair. He pulled back sharply, causing Snake to release him with a cry, reaching with one hand to clutch at his wrist. It took very little coaxing to bring the younger teen back to his feet and pull him into another kiss. This time, Snake returned it with enthusiasm, his tongue teasing, flickering, yet still submissive, with his own. Ace pushed him against the wall, making Snake whimper as their arousals were pressed between them. He could feel him trying to press closer, and smirked around their kiss before pulling away. Snake let out a breathy whine, making as if to follow Ace's lips. He squeaked when he was turned around, pressing his hands against the wall of the shack to steady himself.

"Accce..." his voice was pleading, urgent. "Hurrysss..."

Ace smirked, reaching into his pocket for a slim tube. Snake looked over his shoulder just in time to see it come into view, and his relief was plain. Ace had taken to using lube ever since he had first fucked Snake. The little bitch had made no end of a fuss about it hurting, even milking the pain the following day with barely concealed winces and other signs of discomfort. Ace had started carrying lube with him so the younger teen would shut up.

Trembling with lust, he unscrewed the tip and squeezed a generous amount on his fingers. Never one for foreplay, he pressed two fingers roughly into Snake, who gasped and let his head drop between his shoulders. When he felt Snake press back against his fingers, Ace grinned and added a third, stretching his lover nicely.

"Aahh...sss..." Snake lifted his head to give Ace a pleading look.

"Pleassse...Bosss...don't...ah...don't teassse messs..."

Ace smirked at the breathless teen, and withdrew his fingers. Squeezing more lube into his palm and spreading it over his cock, he positioned himself behind Snake. Letting the head of his erection press gently against Snake's entrance, he placed his hands against the slim hips before Snake could push back onto him.

"You want it, huh babe?" He growled. Snake looked at him incredulously.

"Wh-What do yousss mean, Accce?" He panted. "Of _courssse_ Isss want itsss!"

Ace feigned a hurt look.

"I dunno, Snake. Only, when we got started..." he shrugged "ya didn't seem so hot fer the idea."

A horrified look crossed Snake's flushed features. "I-Isss..."

His hand left its place against the wall and his fingers pressed against the already bruised face, clearly remembering how – and why – he had gotten it bruised in the first place.

"Bosss..." he began, but looked confused when Ace smirked back at him. As fun as making Snake beg was, he wasn't in the mood to do it this time.

"Only kiddin'!" Before Snake could even process what he had heard, the older teen surged his hips forward, spearing himself into Snake with a growl. Snake's body surged forward and he cried out, the shack's wall shaking as his hand returned to slam against it. His head dropped between his trembling shoulders and he whined softly.

Ace paused for a moment, revelling in the tight heat of the younger teen. He'd never say it aloud, but _fuck_ did Snake's ass feel amazing! It wasn't really that big a surprise that he kept going back to the younger male.

Snake's head lifted to look up at Ace, signalling he was ready. Tightening his grip on his hips, Ace began to thrust into the younger teen, who moaned loudly as he pushed against him.

"_Ah!_ Ssso good...mphss..."

Snake's palms were flat against the shack wall, which he was using to press his hips back against Ace's with every rough thrust. Ace could hear the sound of their bare flesh slapping together alongside his panting and Snake's moaning, and he loved it.

"Mmmhsss..." Snake's head dropped back between his shoulders. "A-Accce...m-more, pleassse..."

"Fuck..." Ace growled, aroused beyond belief by Snake's pleas, and tightened his hips hard enough to bruise. "Snake...babe..."

Snake's moans took on an urgent tone, when suddenly his whole body jolted beneath Ace's hands.

"_Acce! Theresss, pleasssse!"_

Ace cried out when Snake's insides tightened around his cock, bucking his hips more frantically in response. He wrapped a hand around Snake's neglected arousal, pumping and squeezing it artlessly as his own release neared. Judging from the way that the younger teen's moans turned into wails, his release wasn't far behind either...

It only took a few more thrusts before Ace's orgasm sent his hips into frenzy, spilling himself into this lover with a loud groan. He vaguely registered Snake's almost-scream as he found his own release, muscles cramping so tightly that Ace found he could barely move for a moment, and felt the other's cock spasm in his loosening grip.

For a moment, the two teens remained as they were, panting, until they regained their breath. Ace quickly withdrew his softening arousal, earning a pained whimper from the other, who slowly returned to a standing position and pulled up his pants and jeans.

By the time he turned around, Ace had already zipped up his pants. Snake looked nervous and seemed about to speak, but thought better of it and reached up to adjust his hat. Ace crossed to the other side of the shack and dug out some deodorant, spraying under his shirt. He turned and offered the can to Snake, who was touching up his lipstick and frowning into his compact at the darkening bruise under his eye. He took the deodorant with a grateful smile and gave himself a quick spray before handing it back.

There was no kiss or other affection; Ace's itch had been thoroughly scratched. He simply walked out of the shack, knowing Snake would follow.

It was pretty sweet to have someone as willing as Snake around – someone easy on the eyes who would let him have his way when the mood took him, no questions asked.

He didn't look back when he heard Snake's unique footprints coming up behind him, so he missed the utterly miserable expression on the other's face as they moved to catch up with the others

It was only to be expected that something to do with Snake would cut their fun short.

Well, it was due to the arrival of Belinda, Snake's stuck up, goody-goody bitch of an older sister, at the pizzeria, anyway. He had been in the middle of a brilliant joke when she had flounced in, suitcase in tow, ruining everything as usual. She turned around as she looked, giving off the pretence of being a bright and bubbly nineteen year old. The lie was so bad, it would make the PowerPuff girls vomit.

Her eyes deliberately passed over him as she pretended to ignore him, moving straight to her brother like a seasoned predator. When Snake saw her, it annoyed Ace no end to see him brighten up. He leapt from his chair and all but ran up to her, wrapping her into a hug.

They wrapped their arms around one another, hugging like they hadn't seen each other in years. They remained in a looser embrace for a little longer, clasping one another's hands as they chattered on in what Snake had told him was Japanese – their native tongue, apparently. He slumped back in his seat, glowering behind his sunglasses at her stupid, prissy face as she babbled and giggled at her brother's every word. The others didn't seem to share his distaste, happily watching the reunion.

Stupid Belinda! Arturo had once commented how alike they looked, but Ace sure as hell couldn't see it. Sure...they had a similar facial and body structure: large, oval eyes, high cheekbones, wide, toothy grins and slightly too-long noses. But while Snake suited his features, his sister did not – she was far too quick to sneer down her unlovely snout around him anyway. He would think that she'd want to draw as little attention to the size of her nose as possible.

Where Snake was green-skinned, with dead-straight, black hair and lips that were a darker blue-green beneath his signature black lipstick, Belinda was pale olive-skinned – the clearest indication of her Japanese heritage, with big brown eyes and pale pink lips. Snake had mentioned that she had little clusters of green scales on her face and body, but Ace had never seen them.

Belinda's hair was longer than her brother's, falling almost to her hips in loose, thick waves. Like her eyes, her hair was a rich brown, with golden highlights where it caught the light. Where Snake wore his hat, Belinda liked to tie a scarf around the top of her head like a cap. This time, she wore a scarf depicting the Japanese flag, with the red dot on the right side of her head. She wore a leather jacket, and blue flared jeans. Ace thought she looked as pretentious as she was, like she was too good for the likes of her brother's friends - too good for _him_.

He fucking _hated_ her!

Just as she finished whatever she and Snake were babbling about, she turned to the gang with her annoying, cheerful smile.

"Oh, hi guys!"

That was another thing – Belinda hardly hissed. She only did it whenever she was annoyed, and he had seen and heard that for himself. He wondered if she would have hissed so viciously at him if she had known her precious brother had paid for it later on...

Belinda had come over to their table – arm in arm with Snake – and greeted the others warmly. She gave Arturo and Grubber a hug while exchanging pleasantries with both, and when it was Billy's turn she actually reached over to kiss him on the cheek as she lavished affection on the big lug! While Billy clapped his hands to his face and collapsed into blushing laughter, her attention turned to Ace and her smile froze.

"...Copular..." she said stiffly. Ace lowered his shades to offer her a frosty glare of his own.

"Hey..._bitch!_" He spat, flicking his gaze to Snake as he whirled to face his boss.

"Accce!" He whined, placing a hand on his sister's arm. The rest of the gang were watching the three in nervous silence. But Belinda seemed far from upset, instead straightening herself up and fucking _sneering _at him.

"I see that you haven't changed, Copular." She smirked, before turning to smile at Snake.

"San-kun, I'm kinda tired." She breezed, scratching idly at her headband. "Can we go home now?"

Snake hesitated, glancing at Ace as though to ask if it was OK to leave. Glaring at Belinda, he shrugged.

"Sssure, Nee-sssan. Sssee you guysss laterss." He turned to Ace as Arturo, Grubber and Billy said their goodbyes. "Bye Bossss." He said, shyly.

Ace looked at Snake while he pushed his shades back up his nose.

"Yeah sure, whatever." He replied, following the siblings as they walked out of the pizzeria together, continuing their previous chatter.

Yeah, that Belinda was one stuck-up bitch. He wondered if she was partly that way because she knew that her brother was hotter than she was...

...and nowhere near as picky!


	2. Chapter 2 - Snake - A Better Offer

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 2 – Snake – A Better Offer**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: M/M, OCxHIM friendship, language, racial abuse, Headcanon, some hints of sexual assault and parental neglect.**_

"Ugh!" Belinda stopped and stretched her arms over her head and looked over at Snake. "Sorry, San-kun. I'm not really that tired, but you know I can't _stand_ that perverted shit-head."

Snake sighed, looking up at the board. The subway train that would take them out of Townsville was only about five minutes away, so didn't bother to sit on the bench. He frowned at his sister.

"Nee-ssssan..." There was no real effort to his words – they had been said several times over and would be repeated just as much. "He'ssss not sssso bad..."

"Seriously? Sanford..." She turned to face him fully. "He's so much worse! He thinks he's God's gift to anyone he wants to put his dick in and can't handle it when he meets someone who doesn't agree with him... Hang on, stay still a minute..."

Before Snake could react, his sister's face was so close to his that their noses brushed together. Her hand, soft and warm, pressed to his cheek, and her thumb brushed against the bruised flesh beneath his eye. He jerked back with a tiny hiss of discomfort, but her hand did not move away. Her brown eyes locked with his, mouth twisting into a pout of disapproval.

"And just where did you get that?" She murmured, narrowing her eyes when he looked away. "Let me guessss...Ace Copular?"

The hiss was enough to make him cringe. All four Ingleberry children had inherited their mother's forked tongue and hissing speech, with his own being as pronounced as their mother and Ivy's being the least unless she was emotional. Their father had sent them all to speech therapy to try and rid them of it. He had found that it helped him a little, especially when he was speaking in other languages, but had struggled to lose the hiss. His father had initially tried to force him into further sessions, but he had refused and pointed out that their mother's hiss hadn't hurt her career as a doctor when challenged. Father had been content enough in the greater success with Belinda, Isaac and Ivy to overlook his hissing oldest son.

But of course, their hisses all returned when they became emotional. Isaac – or Znake, as he was calling himself – hissed when he was nervous, and Ivy hissed when she was upset. Belinda's became especially noticeable when she was angry, and nothing would guarantee her fury more than someone hurting her beloved little brother.

"Blindie-kun..." He began, using his pet name for her in the hopes it would soothe her anger, placing his hand over her own and trying to coax it away. "It wassssn't like thatssss..."

"Then what wassss it?" She snapped, refusing to budge. "You're not going to sssay it wass one of the otherssss, are you?"

For a second, Snake considered the idea of blaming the PowerPuff girls for the bruise, but dismissed the idea. Even if Belinda believed him, the truth would come out when she invariably confronted them. He shook his head, still refusing to meet her eye.

"Nosss. It wasss Accce, but itsss really not ssso badsss."

"_Not ssso bad_?! Your eye'sss turning black – you're lucky it isssn't sswollen." Her thumb ran gently across the bruised flesh. "What _happened_?"

Snake opened his mouth to reply, to plead with his sister to drop it, when he was granted a reprieve by the arrival of their train.

"Can we notsss talk about it here, Blindie-kun?" He spoke in Japanese, causing Belinda to raise an eyebrow.

"Why not? Hardly anyone else in Townsville speaks Japanese."

"I...don'tsss want to talk about itss in public..." he whined, turning away as the train stopped.

Belinda stared at him, clearly unhappy, but sighed and nodded.

"Ok, San-kun. But as soon as we get home, you're telling me _everything._"

Snake nodded, right as the train door opened to let them on.

They talked about Belinda's exams on the journey, and how she thought she had done on them. Given that she could recall exact questions and the answers she had given with perfect clarity, Snake was fairly confident that she had passed them with flying colours.

"Kaa-san will expect nothing less than perfection though." She grumbled, folding her arms over her suitcase and resting her chin on them. "Can't just comfortably pass when you're the daughter of the best doctor in Townsville, right?"

Snake rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Don't be sssilly, Nee-ssan." He laughed. "You're not going to jussst get byss – our parentss couldn't be more proud of youss, studying medicccinesss." He knocked his knee against hers playfully. "Youss make the twinsss and messs look bad, being the perfect childsss and all."

She chuckled, returning the gesture and pressing her head against his.

"Don't say that." She cooed. "They're proud of all of us, and they should be!"

"I don't thinksss they're proud of messss..."

"Oh, they are. You don't hear Kaa-san when she's talking about you."

"I don'tsss hear her talkingsss at all!"

He looked away as Belinda's head whirled around to look at him. He hadn't meant to sound so bitter.

"Wh-what did you mean by that?"

"It'sss nothingsss. Forget itsss."

"Sanford..."

"_Please_, Blindie-kun!" He snapped. "When we getsss home."

He felt tears pricking his eyes, and swallowed. She watched him for a moment, but he didn't look back and she looked away. He felt her hand reach over to cover his, giving it a squeeze. He turned his hand around, lacing his fingers with hers.

"I've missssed you, Nee-ssan." He murmured. Belinda smiled, and was about to reply when the conductor announced the next stop.

Snake reached over and took Belinda's suitcase, ignoring her protests, while keeping hold of her hand. A middle-aged man – the only other passenger in their coach - glared at them as they walked, but Snake was used to that kind of look and so paid him no mind. Out of habit, they continued their conversation in Japanese as the train started to slow.

"Has Kaa-san remembered to do the grocery shop?" Belinda asked.

"Only jussst! Lucky I'd already sstarted it online for her, or ssshe'd have been sstuck." He giggled at the memory. "You ssshould have sseen the way sshe ran downsstairss when I assked her if sshe'd sorted it – ten more minutesss and we'd have lossst the delivery sslot."

Belinda laughed.

"I don't get how she can be such a brilliant doctor when she's so hopeless at everything else."

"Don't remindss messs..."

The middle-aged man, who had been looking angrier by the second, suddenly jabbed a meaty finger in their direction.

"Speak English, ya dirty Chinks!"

"_Oh fuck off_, _you sssad old twatsss!_"

Belinda's reaction had been instantaneous – her head whipping round to deliver the retort and returning to her brother as though nothing had happened. She tried to continue their conversation.

"So, do we need to pick anything up, or-"

"This is _America!_ Maybe they didn't tell ya Chink cunts on the boat over here, but over here we speak _English!"_

This time, the siblings looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Firsssst off," Snake leaned forwards to treat the furious man to his widest and most psychotic grin, "We're not _Chinesssse_, we're _Japanesssse_. Learn the fucking differenccce!"

Realising that his chosen targets might be the type to fight back, the man visibly deflated. But Snake, already in a bad mood after what had happened with Ace, wasn't finished. He continued in a low, angry hiss.

"Ssssecond, you might want to make sssure your _own_ Englissssh isss fucking perfect before you ssstart attacking other people. My sssissster sssspeaksss three languagesss as well as Englisssh, I ssspeak _five_, you...can barely manage _one_! Ssso take my ssisster's adviccce, and _fuck offsss!_"

By the time he straightened up, Snake noticed that their critic had shrank into his seat and was trying to look in any direction but theirs. The train doors opened, and Snake grabbed hold of his sister's case, leading her and it off the train.

"I wish you were in Citysville with me when I have to take the tube after a night shift." Belinda sighed. "There's at least one of him on every train, and they've usually been watching too many porn videos..."

She waved her hand dismissively as Snake's head whirled round to look at her.

"Not like that, San-kun. As soon as I bat their hand off my ass or boob and yell in their face they back off. Japanese girls don't do that in the pornos – they cringe and wriggle and let it happen."

"All the sssame, Nee-sssan!" Snake growled. "If I sssee sssome creep'sss hand going near you he'sss gonna lossse it!"

"Awww!" She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, planting a kiss on his cheek. "My brave little brother, coming to save me!" She laughed as he squawked in protest, but his freed arm wrapped around her waist.

"I'm ok, San-kun, seriously. I can look after myself and I have friends to look out for me too." She released him from her embrace when it became apparent that they couldn't keep walking, but left one arm over his shoulder.

"It's _you_ I'm more worried about. I don't think you're hanging out with the right people."

"I thoughtsss you liked the othersss."

"I do. Billy, Arturo and...Grubber, was it? Is that really his _name_? They're all sweethearts – especially Billy – and they all seem to like you a lot, but are they really going to stand up to someone like Ace if he decides he wants to put his hands on you?"

Snake frowned at her, remembering the day when Arturo and Grubber had pulled him to one side and told him they knew why Ace had kept sending them on ahead so the two could be alone. He had insisted things were cool – he could handle Ace.

"They would, Blindie-kun – they told me sssso."

He could still see the conviction in Arturo's eye and in the way he set his jaw as he had promised.

_Ok, Serpiente, if you say so. But we've known him for longer than you, and we know the ideas his Papa's taught him about _consent._ I'm not saying he'd be able to stomach full-on _rape_, but I never heard him mention ever being told no before. But if you do ever say no, and he doesn't stop, well, just shout for us. If Grubber and me can't stop him, _Billy_ will!_

But his sister hadn't seen them make that promise, and the look on her face confirmed it.

"Oh, sure, they'll make a few token protests, but are they going to pull him off you if he decides he's going to take what he wants?"

"Ssserioussly, you think Accce could fight off _Billy_?!"

Belinda still looked unconvinced, but she seemed to stop and consider.

"I suppose not."

Snake leaned closer, tightening his hold around her waist.

"You're not the only one whosss can look after themssselvesss."

He knew from the look on her face that she was going to ask about the black eye eventually.

She lasted all of twenty minutes, taking a sip of the earl grey tea he had just made for them.

"So, how exactly did Ace manage to black your eye?" She asked, adopting a breezy tone despite the stony look in her eyes. Snake sighed.

"I ssssaid sssomething he didn't likesss, ssso he hit mess."

Belinda's eyes widened.

"The fucksss?!" She set her mug down. "Whatsss could you sssay that he'd hitsss you?"

Trying not to wince at her hisses, Snake stared down at his tea as he spoke.

"We were...making outssss. I knew he wanted sssex and I made a joke about how obviousss he wasss being about itsss, and he hit messs."

The horrified look on his sister's face made him want to hide away – he knew what questions would be coming next.

"You...and Accce..." she shook her head as she spoke "you've been...having ssex with him?"

"Yesss."

"How long?"

"Aboutss a year, I thinksss."

"You haven't jussst dropped your sstandardss, Ssan-kun...you've fucking _buried_ them!"

"Blindie..."

"You didn't have ssex with him _today_ though." She turned to face him on the sofa they were sat on. "When he hit youss, you told him to go fuck himssself and walked away, didn't you?" She grabbed his shoulder.

"Tell me yousss walked away from him, and you're _not_ sssat with his...hiss..._sspunk_ inssside you!"

"Oh, that'ssss really _niccce_, Belinda! Really sssomething ssomeone wantss to hear from hisss sssister!"

His voice broke as he snapped at her, and tears blurred the look of shock and disgust on her face. He'd convinced himself that what had happened today was ok, but before his sister he felt filthy and used, just like he had when Ace had walked out of the shack.

"I-Isss..."

Her hands, soft and careful as they had always been, coaxed the mug from his hands and set it on the table. He started sobbing as she pulled him into her arms, clutching at her as he returned her embrace. She rocked him, making soothing noises as she stroked his hair.

"My poor little brother..." she murmured.

"I-Isss..." he paused to regain his breath. "H-he didn't forccce mess to – I _wanted_ itss..."

"Okay," Belinda soothed, "I believe you."

She pulled away from him, and sighed.

"But, seriously, Sanford. _Ace Copular_? When we lived back in Japan, if someone like him had even tried to _talk _to you, you'd have laughed in his face! Now he hits you for saying something that he doesn't like, and you spread your legs for him anyway!"

"It'ss...different with himss, Blindie-kun." Snake whispered. "_He'sss_ different, I don't knowss how to sssay it, but...Isss really likess him."

"Well, I'll agree with you, he ssure is different to your old boyfriends." She snorted. "None of the others would have ever raised a hand to you, regardless of what you said to them. Can't you see that, San-kun? He treats you like sshit – he even tried to get _me_ into bed, right in front of you."

She stopped, and looked at her brother.

"Did he hit you after I refused to sleep with him?" Snake refused to meet her eyes, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he finally spoke.

"He..Isss...He wass _angry_..."

"Oh, of courssse that makess it _fine_!" Belinda ground the heels of her palms into her eyes. "Why didn't youss tell mess, Ssanford?"

"You'd gone back to Ccityssville..."

"I wasss a phone or email awaysss, Sanford. I'd have come sstraight back, and anywayss..."

She looked up at him, eyebrow raised.

"Hasn't Kaa-san had something to say about the bruises?"

Snake bit his lower lip hard, but the tears spilled down his cheeks anyway. His sister's face fell.

"She...hasn't...yelled at _you_ for them?"

Snake laughed. But it was a painful, bitter laugh, and so unfamiliar that Belinda shrank away from her brother, fearing he had gone mad.

"Sssshe hassssn't even _noticcced_ them!"

He looked at his sister, and held his arms out entreatingly.

"Ssshe'sss hardly ever homesss any more, Belinda, and when sshe doess come home, ssshe either goesss ssstraight to bed or her laptop! I don't think ssshe'sss even _looked_ at me long enoughsss to noticcce any bruisssess!"

Belinda looked horrified, but he ploughed on as though afraid to stop. He gestured behind them to the portrait-style photograph of their family: their parents seated together, and their four children surrounding them – Belinda and Snake next to their mother, and their younger siblings – twins Isaac and Ivy – on their father's side. Their father and the twins had stayed behind in Japan, and Snake focussed on them.

"Tou-sssan never calls, and he'ssss always too busssy with sssome court casse or clientsss to talk to messs."

"Sanford...he'd _kill_ Ace if he knew what he was doing..."

"Only becausssse it might damage the firm'ssss preciousss reputation!" Snake snapped, wiping at his eyes with his wristbands. "Obviousssly I can't talk to the _twinsss_ about itss either – they're only thirteen!"

He opened his mouth to say more, but decided against it. For his sister, he had already said more than enough.

"You've been all alone..." her voice was hoarse, and he immediately felt guilty for blurting out all of his misery. She had enough on her plate with her medical studies as it was!

"I'm not alonesss when I'm with my friendssss..."

"_Accce isssn't your friendsss!_"

Her frustrated scream made Snake jump, squeaking as he looked up to find his sister's arms wrapping tightly around him again.

"He's not your friend, or your boyfriend, or anything other than a user, Sanford." She pulled away to look him in the eye. "Because whatever you're doing, it isn't _dating_, is it?"

"Isss...I guesss not..."

She seemed pleased by that, at least. She handed him his much cooler tea back before taking a gulp of her own, silent for a moment.

"When is Kaa-san due to come home?" She asked suddenly. Taken aback, Snake paused to think for a moment.

"Ummsss...I think ssshe sssaid ssshe'd be back home for ten." He replied. "Whyss?"

Belinda grinned.

"Fancy going out for a bit?"

It had taken some persuading, but Belinda had convinced Snake to get in the shower and changed so they could go out. She wouldn't tell him where they were going, but he noticed she had been busy on her cellphone since he'd gotten out of the shower.

He'd changed into some dark blue jeans – Belinda had snatched up his clothes and stuffed them straight into the wash basket – and a black tank top with the logo for _Kamen Rider Black_ printed in gold across his chest. A quick rummage through a drawer revealed some red wristbands, and he retrieved his hat from the hook behind the door.

Belinda had finished her own shower as he was applying his lipstick, and after a few minutes called her brother in to help with drying her hair. When he'd finished, his sister's hair was a cascade of chestnut waves and he left her to get dressed.

She came down in a light blue, sleeveless denim dress, which hugged her slim figure like a glove. She'd put her bandanna back on, and wore nothing on her arms aside from her watch.

Apart from...

"What isss _thatsss_?!" Snake grabbed her arm, holding it comically close to stare at the object below her shoulder. Belinda giggled.

"Do you like it?" She stretched the skin to showcase the tattoo a little more. "The scabs have just about cleared up now."

"Ssso cool..." Snake breathed, looking at the image of the three-headed dragon known as King Ghidorah in perfect detail. Beneath him, in gold-coloured kanji, were the words '_The King is Dead..._'

"You think so?" She grinned, running her fingers down her bare arm. "I was thinking about making it into a sleeve with all of them on: Gojira, Rhodan, Mothra."

"That'sss gonna look awesssomesss, but Kaa-sssan'sss gonna freak outsss when ssshe sseess it! I meansss, who did you getsss to sssign for yousss?"

Belinda grinned and winked, but he noticed a blush dusting her cheeks briefly.

"A friend."

Before Snake could do more than grin back, she grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the door.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Wh-where are wesss goingsss?"

"You'll see."

"Noss."

Belinda turned to her brother, who had stopped dead in his tracks and was staring up at the sign with true horror on his face.

"What do you mean, 'no?' It's okay San-kun – I've been here before. It's really nice."

Snake's jaw dropped as he tried to process his grinning sister's words, looking away from the sign to her and back again. He quickly peered through the window and shuddered as he saw the familiar figure moving around inside.

"Yousss...you do knowsss who _ownss_ thisss diner, don't you?" He hissed at her, trying to bat away the arm that was trying to grab him.

"Of course I do. He's absolutely _lovely_! Come on, it's my treat."

Snake, shocked at his sister's cheery words, could only make a strange "_Eeehh?!_" noise as she managed to grab his wrist and drag him through the doors of the Otto-Time Diner. Before he could react, the doors had closed behind him and she was leading him towards the counter.

HIM looked up, his expression so neutral as to be blank, as they approached. But upon seeing Belinda, his black lips spread into a huge, genuine-looking smile. He briefly vanished and reappeared in front of the siblings, arms extended in welcome.

"Why, _Belinda,_ my dear, what a _wonderful_ surprise to see you!" He cooed. "Oh, it's been so _long!_"

He wrapped his arms around Belinda, who simply laughed and returned the embrace.

"It's good to see you too!" She pulled away a little, but allowed her hands to remain in HIM's claws in a way very reminiscent to how she had clasped her brother's hands during their reunion earlier. Despite himself, Snake felt curious as to how his sister was behaving with Townsville's most terrifying villain.

_They couldn't be..._

But he didn't get much chance to wonder, as Belinda grabbed his wrist again and he was led to the counter, where they both took a seat. HIM was chattering away with her, and she was responding in a way that might have been interpreted as flirty to anyone who hadn't actually seen her flirting for real. When HIM had turned away for a minute, Snake leaned towards his sister.

"How longsss have you been friendsss?"

"Well, I found this diner when I was looking for somewhere Kaa-san free to study for the Citysville Med School entrance exam." She replied. "He kept my coffee topped up and we got to talking, as you do."

She smiled brightly as HIM brought her a mug of said coffee and what looked like waffles drenched in syrup and strawberries. Snake was about to reply when the demon put a mug of what – mercifully, given that he hated coffee – looked like green tea along with what he realised were pancakes. He looked down at the offering, then at his grinning sister.

"You didn't even hear me ordering, did you San-kun?" She giggled, then softened a little.

"Eat up, you need cheering up after today." As if to make a point, she cut into a waffle and took an enthusiastic bite. Snake smiled weakly, and looked back to the pancakes. They smelled _delicious!_

"Thankssss." He murmured, moving to pick up his cutlery...

He felt the claw press gently beneath his chin just as he realised HIM had moved in front of him. He managed a startled noise as his head was lifted level with the demon's, but didn't dare try to escape his grip. He felt his cheeks redden beneath HIM's yellow-green gaze, realising that he had never been so close to HIM before. In fact, the only people he had ever been this close to were his parents, Belinda and the twins, his two former boyfriends, and Ace...

His eyes widened as HIM's other claw brushed against the bruise under his eye with surprising care, examining it with what looked like an expression of concern.

"...and just _who_ gave you _that?_" He spoke in his flowery, gentle tone, but Snake could hear a thinly-concealed growl of anger that made him blush even more. He considered lying, but something told him that was _not_ a good idea...

"A-Accce..." he whispered, unable to stop himself from cringing away as the demon's black lips twisted into an angry pout. HIM paused for a few seconds, seemingly processing his answer, then their eyes locked.

"You deserve better." The words came out as a growl, then he ran his claw a little more firmly against the tender flesh. Snake's pained hiss tapered into a puzzled noise as he felt the tenderness disappear with the claw's passing. He pressed his fingers against the place where the bruise should have been to find the flesh back to normal. Lips parting with surprise, he looked back at HIM, who seemed pleased with himself.

"Whatsss did yousss do?"

"Oh, I healed that ugly little bruise away for you." HIM replied, as though it was nothing.

"Ohsss...uh...thank youss."

HIM giggled, waving his claw in an 'oh, hush' motion.

"Well, we can't have the handiwork of some _obnoxious_ would-be gangster defiling that _pretty_ face, now can we?"

He turned away before Snake could reply, leaving the stunned teen with no option but to stare back at his pancakes, wide-eyed, while his face flushed crimson.

Snake was soon to learn that the seemingly throwaway comment was far from the only compliment he was to receive from the demon. As HIM and Belinda chatted away about her exams, Snake found that HIM kept pulling him into the conversation and making further flirty remarks. At first, Snake simply blushed at each one, trying to be as polite as possible. He wasn't entirely sure if this was some cruel prank. His sister wouldn't do something like that to him, but it wasn't Belinda who was doing it.

But eventually, he began to flirt back, shyly at first, but getting bolder as each one was met with encouraging enthusiasm. For the first time since Belinda had moved to Citiesville, Snake started to feel more confident, and soon he was sure the pink blush marks on HIM's face were either growing or deepening in colour when he flirted back. At Belinda's insistence, he had eaten his pancakes – which were delicious – but now found himself with little else to do beyond study the demon and listen to Belinda's chatter.

He'd never realised how handsome HIM was, but then again he had always tried to keep from attracting attention to himself when he's been in the demon's presence before. He could still remember the beating the gang had received at HIM's claws – with painful assistance from Fuzzy Lumpkins and Mojo Jojo, of course – in the Mayor's office when they had been caught prank calling on the PowerPuff Hotline. He'd been too sore to move the next day, and though they weren't as fearful of Mojo and Fuzzy, the gang had remained respectfully terrified of HIM.

But now, he found HIM's attention exciting, and was enjoying himself immensely. He was idly tracing a pattern on the counter with his finger, when HIM placed another mug of green jasmine tea in front of him.

"I don't really understand the fuss over these _silly_ green teas." The demon purred, idly turning the mug so that the handle moved away from Snake's hand. "Such a _delicate_ flavour, so easy to..._overpower_..."

Snake felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, and he flashed a smouldering glance at HIM.

"Wellsss, there are ssstronger flavoursss to Jasssmine tea, but Isss alwayss found they have the sssame...problemsss." He let his finger resume its pattern, but let it idle its way towards HIM's claw.

"Oh, and what would that be, my dear?"

"Wellss, when you have thessse other flavoursss, they're a lot of fun to ssstart with. Ssure, you might thinksss you don't wantsss to have anything elssse, but then you realissse that each cupss you have makesss it lossse a little more of itss ssshine, and you ssee that it wass nothing more than a passsing fancy, after allsss."

"But the thing about Jassmine..." his finger began to trace around HIM's claw, looking up to gauge his reaction. The demon was watching his finger with a wry smile, but made no effort to move away.

"Jassmine tea might not sseeem ass fanccy, and sseem tasssteless, as thosse otherss, but I've alwaysss found that it'sss _alwaysss good." _

Playfully, his finger began to tease its way along HIM's claw.

"Ssso, the way I ssee it, no matter how tempted you might be, you alwaysss return to your favouritesss. Eventually, you realise that'sss what you needed all along..."

HIM's claw moved a little, opening enough to take Snake's hand.

"I _see..._"

"Umm, are you both still talking about _tea_?"

They turned, blushing, to see Belinda staring at them, disguising her own blushes by taking a swig of her coffee. They turned to look at one another, to their hands, then back to her. Snake realised how close their faces had gotten during their exchange. HIM appeared to realise too, straightening up, but not relinquishing Snake's hand.

"Oh, dear me. I'd better just check on the coffee." He lifted his claw, bringing Snake's hand to his lips and kissing his knuckles softly before releasing him and walking away. Snake nibbled his lower lip as he watched the demon walk away. Sure, he was wearing a mini-dress and make-up, but Snake had been wearing black lipstick for years, and as far as dresses went Snake had worn much more feminine when he was living in Japan...

Belinda's laughter made him look up to see her smiling fondly at him.

"Seems like you're having fun."

Snake blushed, and took a drink of his tea.

A sudden rumbling noise diverted their attention to a shadowy corner of the diner, where a figure appeared to rise from the shadows. It wore a black muscle shirt, and crisp black trousers over its purple-grey skin, and golden shades. Two ivory horns sprouted from its head.

HIM looked up, and frowned.

"_You're_ up early." He observed, earning a shrug from the figure as he walked to the counter.

"Coffee." It growled, in a deep, rich voice. At the sound, Belinda perked up.

"Boogie-san!"

At the sound of her voice, the Boogie Man looked up and turned in her direction. Immediately, he broke into a huge, somewhat lecherous, grin. Turning to HIM, he gestured with both hands in Belinda's direction.

"Imma be sittin' with my _lovely_ companion over there." He oozed, sauntering over until he was at her side. "Hey, baby girl – when did you get back home?"

As Belinda turned her attentions to her new admirer, HIM placed a second mug on the counter and refilled Belinda's. He playfully rolled his eyes at Snake as he replaced the coffee pot, then returned to Snake with a smile.

"Well, now that you're sister's nicely distracted," he purred, leaning against the counter, "where were we?"

Snake looked at his sister, who was literally fluttering her eyelashes at the _actual _Boogie Man, then back to HIM. One look at the demon's smug grin made him realise what had happened.

"Yousss planned thisss, didn't you?" He leaned forwards, a smile spreading across his face.

"But of _course_ I did, Snake." HIM crossed his arms and leaned closer too. "Don't get me wrong: I _adore_ Belinda utterly, but it's a little difficult to..._talk_ with her grinning at us, wouldn't you say?"

At the corner of his vision, Snake could have sworn he saw Belinda tuck her hair behind her ear under guise of swirling a lock around her finger, but he ignored it and cocked his head.

"I likesss it. Ssso...what did yousss want to..._talk_ aboutss?"

He let his finger trace back to HIM's claw, which took hold of his hand again. The demon looked down at them for a second.

"Well...I was wondering if you would like to join me tomorrow evening for dinner?" He stopped to think, then winked. "Completely sister-free, of course."

Snake felt his face heat up and his eyes widened. He dipped his head slightly and peered up at the demon with a shy smile.

"Likesss...a datess?"

"Of course."

Snake bit his lower lip, still smiling. An hour ago the prospect of even walking into the same building as HIM had filled him with terror, and now he was being asked on a _date _by the same being?! He ran his thumb along the curve of HIM's claw thoughtfully.

It was warm, not what he had expected at all.

"O-Okayss." He said, trying not to cringe at the giddiness in his voice. "I'd like thatsss."

He could have sworn that the demon looked relieved when he answered.

"_Wonderful_! So, about 8-ish?"

Trying not to seem as excited as he was, Snake nodded, then paused to think.

"Ummsss, where sshould we..."

"Oh, I'll find you."

A little voice at the back of his mind squeaked to Snake that what he had just heard was _not good at all_, but he quashed it quickly with his next concern.

"What ssshould I wearsss?" He looked down at his _Kamen Rider_ tank, suddenly aware that he had been flirting with the devil in what had to be his nerdiest outfit. HIM studied the shirt with an amused smile.

"Well, to be _honest_, I'm not the _biggest_ Tokusatsu fan myself," he chuckled at Snake's widened eyes, "but I wouldn't say dress up too fancy either...unless you want to _dress up_, of course."

Snake looked at him with surprise at that last part. He hadn't so much as _touched_ those items since they had moved to America – apart from the occasional check to see if his favourites still fit him. How could HIM have possibly...

His eyes flicked to his sister, who was laughing at some story Boogie was telling her.

"Ssso you and my ssissster have talked a _lotsss_, huh?"

"Well...this and that." The demon looked a little embarrassed, making Snake chuckle a little.

"I sssupposse I sshould be flattered..."

The sound of Belinda's cellphone ringing interrupted whatever HIM was going to say. They looked up to see her fish it from her bag and answer the call. To her surprise – and Snake's - it was their mother. He didn't move his hand from its place within HIM's claw, and the demon made no attempt to move away. Disappointment was clear on his face as Belinda finished her call.

"Oh, you're not going already?" he almost whined. Belinda jumped off the stool.

"That was Kaa-san. She's finished early because some pharmaceutical meeting has been rescheduled, so she's coming to pick us up."

The Boogieman looked disappointed.

"But y'all just got here!" He protested. Belinda rolled her eyes and hugged his arm.

"Oh, Boogie-san – I'm home for the summer. We'll have lots of time to catch up."

She looked over her shoulder at Snake.

"We'd better hurry up, San-kun. She said she was on her way."

"Okayss." Snake turned back to HIM.

"I guesss I have to gosss." HIM lifted his hand and kissed it.

"Until tomorrow night then." His voice reduced to a purr. Snake blushed, moving his hand reluctantly.

"Yess, until tomorrow nightsss."

He also climbed off his stool, and Belinda stepped up with purse in hand. HIM waved her off with a claw.

"We've talked about this, Belinda..."

Snake watched his sister argue with his...what was HIM now? Potential boyfriend?

The realisation hit him: he was going on a _date_ with _HIM_! What was everyone going to think?

What was _Ace_ going to think? If things went well tomorrow night, Ace wasn't going to be able to use him the way he had. To make him feel dirty, or worthless, or good for nothing...

_I don't care what he thinksss._ Snake realised. _Blindie was right – he _is_ just a user, and HIM's right too – I _do _deserve better!_


	3. Chapter 3 - Ace - Shock and Change

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 3 – Ace – Shock and Change**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: M/M, language, mentions of sex. **_

Ace was surprised to see Snake walk up to the shack for two reasons.

Firstly, when Belinda was home, Snake spent a lot more time with her and would only hang out with them when her social calendar permitted him to. He'd thought about chewing Snake out for it, but it wasn't his fault that he had a controlling bitch of a sister who wouldn't let him have hardly any fun. Not to mention, if he did manage to get Snake to hang out with them there was a risk that Belinda would either tag along or gatecrash later on. Obviously, that was _disgusting_ to think about, so he didn't.

Secondly, Snake seemed...odd, even for him. He would normally offer the others a quiet greeting and slink over to wherever he wanted to sit or lean so he could wait for Ace to decide what they were going to do. On most occasions he would smile, sometimes offering eye contact, but nothing especially notable.

Today, not only was Snake _here_ without his sister, but he was..._happy_. He didn't quite skip through the dump – even _Billy_ wasn't that dumb – but there was a noticeable spring in his step. Then when he greeted Arturo, he was smiling brightly as he said hi...

It was how he said it that startled Ace the most. Instead of his usual mumble – a proper way for a teenager to speak – Snake..._trilled_ his greeting. Ace had never used the word 'trilled' in his entire life and was already confident he would never use it again. Fuck, he wasn't even sure how he knew the word existed. Maybe one of the stories his _Nonna_ read to him when he was little had it in. It didn't matter, because that was the only word that could describe the sound of Snake's voice.

The others didn't react in the same way, seeming to brighten up with Snake's arrival.

"Hoho, you're in a good mood today, _Serpiente._" Arturo chuckled.

"Duhh, yeah! Billy like happy Snake!" The Cyclops reached out and snatched the slim teen into an inescapable bear-hug. Instead of gasping for breath – again, the proper way to respond to one of Billy's hugs – Snake laughed breathlessly and returned the embrace.

"Aww, thanksss Billy." He smiled as he was set down again, turning to look at Ace. There was a flicker of something, uncertainty maybe, in his eyes before he smiled to his boss.

"Hey, Bosss."

"So what da heck's up with yous? Your sister let you fuck her or somethin'?" Ace snapped, wanting to put a stop to this strange mood Snake was in.

The rest of the gang stared at him in shock, and then Grubber scowled.

"Ppptthhptt! _(There was no need to be so disgusting!)" _He spat.

"Duhh, yeah! Dat wasn't very nice, Boss." Billy agreed.

Arturo said nothing, but scowled at him with his one visible eye. As one, the three looked at Snake, who just stared back at Ace with a disappointed expression on his face. Beneath the level gaze – another thing he wasn't used to – Ace began to feel his cheeks burn with shame and it took a great effort for him to keep from squirming. He wanted to look away, but that would be weak.

It was because of this that he saw Snake appear to come to some sort of decision and smile softly.

"No, Bosss." He replied softly. "I've not ssslept with my sssisster, not lassst night or eversss. I won't ever ssleep with her eitherss. Sshe'ss my ssisster and my oldessst friend, that'sss why we're sso clossse. Okaysss?"

Normally, that would have been enough for Ace to hit his subordinate, but with the others clearly not happy with him he decided not to.

"So, _Serpiente_," Arturo turned to Snake with a grin, "what has got you in such a good mood this morning?"

"Pffthhpth pthhpt pthfft. (_I would have thought you'd be spending the day with your sister.)"_

Snake giggled.

"Ohss...Belinda'sss grounded." He replied, grinning at the others as they gaped at him.

"Duhh, isn't Miss Belinda a grown up?" Billy scratched his head.

"Well, ssshe thought ssso, until Mom groundedsss her lasst nightsss." Snake shrugged. "Turnsss out Mom didn't approve of herss getting a tattoo..."

"Your sister got a tattoo?" Despite his previous embarrassment, Ace couldn't help but grin. Snake smiled back at him, nodding.

"Yesss, right on her armss. Sshe forgotss sshe hadn't put a jacket on and Mom ssspotted it before sshe even got into the car. Ssshe waited until we got homess, then went _bersserk!"_

"So," Billy looked confused. "Is dat why Snake's so happy?"

"Whatss? Oh, nosss." Snake shook his head. "That'sss not whysss."

"Then what is it?" Ace rolled his eyes.

"Oh...wellsss." Snake looked away, grinning stupidly and blushing. "Isss...got a datesss tonight."

Ace's face fell in disbelief. Snake..._dating_ somebody?! He stared, open-mouthed for a moment, at Snake's cheerful expression. Then, surprise was replaced by a strange fury.

"The hell?!" He almost screamed, grabbing the younger teen by the shirt. "Whaddaya mean, you _got a date?!_"

Snake winced out of instinct, closing his eyes and turning his head to the side.

"I meanss I gotss a date, bosss." He snapped an eye open to look at Ace. "I-I don'tsss know how elssse to ssay its..."

Ace was so furious he was shaking. Looking at the rest of the gang, who were watching the exchange blankly, he paused for a second to consider them. He looked behind him at the empty shack before jabbing an angry finger at the other three.

"You three wait outside!" He growled. "Snake an' me gotta _talk_ for a sec."

He dragged Snake into the shack, almost flinging him bodily into the building before storming in and slamming the door shut behind him so hard the walls shook. Snake backed up against the wall, his previous happy mood gone.

"B-Bosss..."

Ace took off his shades, glaring straight into his eyes.

"The fuck you doin', goin' on a _date_?" He hissed, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth.

"Isss..."

"I mean, what kinda chick would wanna go out with _you_?"

Snake looked hurt.

"I'm notss going on a datess with a _girl_, bosss."

Ace was derailed for a moment.

"You're datin' a guy?"

"I don't like girlsss, bosss...not to _datess_, anywayss."

Thinking on it, the fact that Snake was going on a date with another man made Ace feel all the worse. If Snake had been dating a girl, then there would have been no reason to stop what they had going on: it wasn't really cheating, given that a girl couldn't do the same thing. But a guy...there was no way that Snake wouldn't be the girl of the two. The last thing he wanted was to start fucking Snake and find that this other guy had just been there before him..._gross_!

"So where'd dis mystery guy come from?" He snapped. "Anyone I know?"

Snake blushed.

"He'sss...uhss...he'ss a friend of Belinda'sss..."

"Figures dat bitch would have somethin' to do with it." Ace snarled, pacing about the floor. "Had him all lined up for ya, huh?"

"Wh-what do yousss mean, Bosss?" Snake looked confused. "Belinda didn't havesss anything to dosss with it. We got talkingsss, and he asssked me outsss."

"Ya gonna fuck him?"

"_Bosss!_" Snake looked horrified, cheeks turning from green to red. Ace closed the gap between them.

"Answer me!"

"Not on the firssst date, nosss!" Snake actually raised his voice a little. "Whatss do youss take me forsss, ssome kind of whoresss?"

"Wouldn't be a massive stretch, would it? Never heard ya say no to a fuck before!"

This time it was Snake's turn to stare, open mouthed, at him. In the dim light, he thought the younger teen's eyes welled up.

"Yeah, wells...I've made a few _misstakess_ before, Accce." His voice was cold – the kind that suggested the speaker was really angry. It was enough to make Ace step back so Snake could move away from the wall. He felt a pang of guilt as Snake walked past him and reached out to gently grab his arm.

"Snake, I..."

At the contact, Snake had stopped and simply stood still with his gaze fixed to the dusty floor. In the silence that followed, Ace struggled to find the words.

"I, uh...I didn't mean..."

"Let'ss jussst forget it, Bosss." Snake whispered. "The otherss are going to worrysss if we sstay heress much longersss."

Ace let go of his arm, and turned to face the door.

"Yeah, I guess so." He replied. Snake looked at him and gave him an uneasy smile before he opened the door and stepped into the light. Ace stared after him.

_But...what about me?_

He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh. It was getting greasy, he would have to shower tonight and wash it. Putting his shades back on, he took a quick breath before joining the others outside.

He caught the end of Snake reassuring the others that he was alright, but there was no hint of anyone saying anything to him about it. They all turned to face him, and Snake's lips stretched into his more familiar grin.

"Sso what'ss the plan, Bosss?"

Snake had left at some point after four to get ready for his date. Ace had dismissed him and affected that he had forgotten about it. It made his teeth grate to hear Arturo and Grubber wish Snake good luck with typical teenage humour, and Billy insisting that Snake tell Belinda he had said hi. Snake promised that he would, and laughed off Arturo and Grubber's jokes, before heading down to the subway.

Ace had resolved not to look at Snake when he left, but couldn't help it. Watching Snake disappear down the street made him feel sick and angry. He had already started to sulk before he knew what was happening.

Was this _jealousy?_ He realised that until this morning it hadn't even occurred to him that Snake might actually attract someone else's attention, let alone that Snake might respond to anyone who showed any romantic interest. Hell, he'd never even considered that Snake had _feelings_ beyond physical satisfaction, which he had to have enjoyed as well...

...he had to, he'd never tried to protest if you didn't count the time where Ace hadn't brought any lube - and he didn't, given that they had still fucked without it, so yeah...

Besides, it wasn't like he wasn't able to find someone else if he wanted to fuck. He'd never had the problem before, but he'd gone to Snake because it was easier. Now that wasn't a possibility, he'd go find another. Probably a girl too, which was obviously a lot better given he wasn't a screaming fag like Snake. Yeah, actually, Snake finding himself a boyfriend was probably a good thing – he could get back to normal.

His vision had started to blur, so he took off his shades to rub them and was surprised to see his hand come back wet. Replacing his shades, he looked down at his hand in puzzlement.

"Must be exhaust fumes." He muttered.

_No way that I'm cryin'..._


	4. Chapter 4 - Snake - A Date With A Devil

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 4 – Snake – A Date With A Devil**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: M/M, language, shounen-ai. **_

He was _not _going to let Ace ruin his mood, but trust him to try. First he outright accused Snake of committing _incest_ with his older sister, and then had the nerve to call him a _whore!_ As if he had ever instigated sex with Ace! It was _always_ Ace who made the first move – he wouldn't have dared in case he got a fist to the nose for his troubles.

No way was he going to tell Blindie about this morning – she'd go berserk – even though he wished he could tell her about how Grubber, Billy and Arturo had turned on Ace after he had made the incest remark.

Ace had pretty much ignored him after their time in the shack, though Snake had caught a few sneaking glances in his direction. They'd been paired with a weird expression, almost like Ace was hurt that Snake had a date. Had he really just assumed that Snake was on some kind of standby until he wanted someone to have sex with? It would almost be laughable if it hadn't been the truth before HIM had asked him out. He wondered how Ace would have reacted if Snake had told him exactly _who_ his date was.

_Probablyss wouldn't have believed messs...if I hadn't been theress, _I_ wouldn't have believed messs eitherss..._

Once again, he began to worry about HIM's exact motives for asking him out. What would an all-powerful demon want with a sixteen year old, mostly Japanese teenager with green skin and serpentine features? Apart from the obvious, Snake couldn't think of anything besides his sister's friendship with him. As for the obvious...was HIM going to expect sex at the end of the date? It wasn't as if he would be able to refuse, for HIM was more than powerful enough to take what he wanted. He was far from being a virgin, had lost his virginity in Japan before he'd even heard of Townsville, but would he be able to endure the lust of a demon?

_Sstupid Acce, I was excited for tonight before you opened your big mouthsss..._

He finally arrived home to find his mother's car in the driveway, making him stop and stare in confusion. She was supposed to be at the hospital, most likely in Theatre elbows-deep in some patient, or showing another patient a series of near-identical charts. To have her come home early for two nights running was unheard of now.

As though his thoughts had summoned her, his mother opened the door and started to walk down the drive. She was almost at the car before she spotted him.

"Oh, Ssanford." She hissed gently, turning from the car to face her son fully. "Hello, darling."

"Kaa-ssan, what are youss doing homess?"

He let her reach over and kiss his cheek. Like everything she said and did, the action was genuine and well-intentioned yet absent-minded. Snake could almost hear her thinking about whatever she was planning to do next even as her lips brushed against his scales.

"I brought ssome filesss home lasst night, but with your ssisster'ss little..._incident_ I forgot all aboutss them until I got to the hosspital. I have ssurgery in two hoursss and I want to look them over before I sstart. You knowss how I hate being unprepared, Ssanford."

Snake nodded, looking at his mother with resignation. Thanks to their matching green skin and lips, vermilion eyes, and straight black hair, he and his mother looked the most alike. He was amazed that nobody, especially the PowerPuff girls and Professor Utonium, had realised they were mother and son. Or they had, and had chosen to ignore it. After all, he was hated and regarded as a degenerate loser, while she was Townsville's finest surgeon and one of its most respected citizens. Why would anyone want to acknowledge that the two were related? It wasn't like the two were ever seen together.

"Ummsss, are you going back to the hosspital now, Kaa-san?" He asked, watching his mother skimming through a page of test results.

"Hmss? Oh, yess Ssanford, I am. I...sshould be back by nine if the ssurgery goess well. Belinda ssayss you have a date tonightsss?"

Surprised, Snake nodded.

"In that casse, I'll ssee _you_ when you get backsss." She chuckled. "Are you alright for moneysss? Itss not right to go on a date without any."

"I'm ok, thanksss."

"Ssplendid. Well, have a niccce time, and make ssure you takess your phone with youss." She opened the car's passenger door and put the files on the seat. When she turned, she looked at her son and smiled, reaching to take a lock of his hair between her fingers.

"Your hair'sss getting lovely and long." She said softly, leaning over to give him another peck, this time on the lips. She straightened and tutted at her watch, hurrying over to the driver's side of the car and getting in. As she pulled off the drive, she gave him a quick wave before speeding away. Snake heard the door open, and turned to see his sister leaning against the frame in pink shorts and a white vest.

"You knowss, that'ss the mosst she'ss ssaid to me in about a monthsss." He mused.

Belinda rolled her eyes.

"She's had _plenty_ to say to me." She groaned. "Mostly about my tattoo."

Snake couldn't help but laugh at the sulky expression on her face.

"Oh, by the wayss, Billy told me to tellss you he ssayss hi."

As the bath was running, Snake was rummaging through his wardrobe while his sister sat on the bed.

"I don't know what to wearsss." He sighed.

"Why don't you wear one of your special outfits?" Belinda suggested. "I don't think he's going to be put off by you wearing a dress – he wears one all the time."

"Blindie-kun...Isss haven't worn any of my dresssess since I was in Japan." Snake blushed, smoothing down one of the skirts as he did. "Vissual Kei hasssn't even been heard of over heress. Maybess if thiss date goesss well I mightss..."

"What makes you think it won't?" Belinda joined him at the wardrobe and started rummaging. "You should have seen the way the two of you were eating one another up last night...you almost forgot about your pancakes!"

"Blindie!"

"Seriously, San-kun, he wouldn't have asked you out if he wasn't interested."

"What if it'sss a prank, or ssomething?"

Belinda looked at him with a sad expression on her face.

"You've been hanging out with Ace for too long." She said softly. "You're seeing pranks and cruelty where there aren't any. You were so happy last night and this morning."

"I knowss, but...you've sseen a different ssside to HIM to messs. I can't help butss feel sscared..."

Belinda reached over and gave her brother's shoulders a squeeze.

"I doubt there's a point in telling you not to." She sighed. "Do you want to go through with it?"

"Yess, I do. I don't knowss what he would do if I bailed outss on him."

"Sanford, if you _really_ don't want to go on this date..."

"No, no I dosss." Snake pulled away from her and went into the bathroom to check on his bath. Belinda sighed as she watched him leave, then went back to looking through his wardrobe.

After his bath, Snake began to feel confident again, though he didn't entirely appreciate that Belinda was still in his room. About a dozen items of clothing were strewn over his bed, and she was still rummaging through his wardrobe.

"What are yousss doing?"

"You said you didn't know what to wear." Belinda didn't turn to look at him, examining a shirt before putting it back. "I'm helping you."

Crossing over to the bed, Snake picked up the three dresses that had been carefully lain across the top of the other clothes, and pushed past his sister to put them back.

"I ssaid I wassn't wearing a dresss." He muttered.

"But you'd look really nice!"

Snake groaned, smoothing down the fabric of a skirt before straightening the hangars properly.

"I _knowsss_!" He replied, with an air of confident certainty that would have shocked the rest of his gang to hear. "Butss I don'tss want to dresss up sso much on the firssst date."

Belinda shrugged.

"Okay, so what were you thinking about?"

Snake turned and eyed the clothes on the bed thoughtfully. Belinda had picked each item from what he thought of as his 'Japanese' clothes - things that he wouldn't dream of wearing on the streets of Townsville.

He'd gotten into the Visual Kei style just before hitting his teens, and soon his wardrobe had been full of the lacy and effeminate gothic attire that his favourite bands – Mana from Malice Mizer being his icon above all – were so fond of wearing. The dresses had found their way into his collection by the time he was thirteen. In Japan, it hadn't been a big deal – there was even a club at school and students wore toned down styles all the time. Sure, there was an occasional remark that had stung, but they were usually from bullies or the terminally envious. He'd actually gotten all of his dates because of how he dressed.

But America was different: if you were wearing a dress and _weren't_ a girl, you were lucky to get hurtful remarks. Luckily his parents had old college friends in Townsville who'd had the foresight to warn him, and the clothes had stayed in his wardrobe since he had put them there.

But then again, he thought, not all of his Japanese clothes had been exclusively feminine...

He moved an excessively lacy top out of the way to find the very item he had been thinking about. Setting it aside, he looked over the bed to see if the trousers he wanted to match were among the pile. They weren't. He turned back to the wardrobe and looked up on the shelf above the rail to find them neatly folded.

"Perfectsss." He grinned, giving them a little shake and holding them up for inspection. He retrieved the top and held it above them, considering the items together. Yes, he decided, they would go together just fine...

A little over an hour later, Belinda looked her brother up and down. With a grin, she clapped her hands together.

"You look _perfect!_" She squeed. "HIM's going to love it."

Snake looked down at himself.

"Yousss think sso?"

He'd chosen a wide-necked jumper, mostly cream in colour with silver-grey stripes wrapping around his waist, that left his collarbone and part of his shoulders bare. He'd twinned it with a choker, which consisted of a silver and crystal "S" between cream lace ribbons. A pair of grey-blue, bootleg jeans, which moulded to his flesh like they were sprayed on and embroidered with delicate silver peacock feathers, complemented the jumper just as well. Leaving his hat on the dresser, he had finally tied his hair into a high ponytail, leaving some to frame his face. He'd decided that putting any make-up on was overkill, but he'd re-applied his lipstick to cover the dark green of his natural lips.

"Youss don't thinkss I over-did itss?"

"No, not at all, San-kun." She reached over to brush a speck of fluff from her brother's sleeve. "Although, you'd think that jumper would be too warm to wear in June. It's like the weather forgot that we're supposed to be in summer."

Snake shrugged.

"It hasss been kinda coldsss." He agreed. "At leasst I have ssomething comfortablesss to wear...what time isss it?"

Belinda looked at her watch.

"Twenty to eight."

Snake started – he only had twenty minutes before his date! HIM had said that he would find Snake, which had been one of the reasons he had decided to come home in the first place. He had normally met his dates at the location – the cinema, or restaurant, but this time...

"I don'tss even know where we're goingsss..." He hissed softly, nervousness becoming clear on his face.

"Somewhere nice, I expect." Belinda mused, dipping her head to catch his attention. "Are you ok?"

Snake smiled weakly.

"Sstarting to feel realsss now." He admitted. He toyed with the end of one sleeve. "I don't knowsss if I'm exccited or ssscared. Doesss my hair look okaysss?"

They were in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. As Snake walked across to the door, the clock began to chime.

Before he opened the door, he checked his clothes to make sure nothing was rumpled. He felt his cheeks flush when he saw HIM stood waiting for him. The demon had ditched his usual red mini-dress and had instead dressed in a tightly fitted, dark suit, with a crimson shirt underneath. Judging by the fact that his trousers were only slightly looser than Snake's jeans, he had clearly also abandoned his usual boots.

He looked...he looked so _good_! Snake looked up from his appraisal to find his own appearance being subjected to similar scrutiny, and from the look on HIM's face, the demon was equally impressed with what he saw.

"Oh, my!" HIM's voice came out as an almost musical purr. "I wasn't expecting you to look quite so..._delicious_..."

"Ohsss..." Snake's eyes widened and his entire face reddened in response, not so much to the complement as to the way it was said. He averted his gaze as he tried – and failed – to suppress a giddy smile. "Y-yousss really thinksss ssso?"

He looked back when HIM took his hand in a claw. The teenager watched, slightly spellbound, as his hand was lifted to smiling black lips.

"I _know_ so, my dear." HIM pressed a kiss to Snake's fingers. "Now then, shall we go?"

Snake, who's eyes had been fixed on his hand in the demon's claw, smiled nervously.

"O-Okayss." He turned back to his sister, who was leant against the counter, grinning at him.

"Have a good time, San-kun." She waved them off with one hand, using the other to pick up her mug. "Look after my brother." She added, a little more seriously, to HIM.

"But of _course_, Belinda." HIM looked at her with an expression of mock hurt. "I would hardly do anything else."

As he was led, hand still held in HIM's claw, Snake managed to call out a quick "Sssee you latersss!" Then he felt himself being pulled closer as he stepped outdoors, with HIM's other claw moving to rest against his hip. He had the brief thought that they must look as though they were about to start dancing before they were surrounded by pink and suspiciously fluffy clouds. He turned to look up at his date.

"W-where are we goingsss?" He asked, with only the faintest tremor in his voice hinting at his nerves.

"Just a little place I know." HIM smiled back at him as the clouds dissipated to reveal the front of a restaurant. Snake jumped a little – he hadn't even felt them move – before looking around them curiously.

The restaurant was situated on a riverbank, inside what seemed to be a massive cavern. Through the cavern mouth, the orange light of sunset shone through. The dark waters of the river ran so smoothly that it looked like ink. The front of the restaurant was preceded by a black marble colonnade, where flowering plants grew in elegant bronze vases between the dark columns. The wide windows showed the inside was lit by candle-light, with braziers lit in each corner.

"It'sss sso pretty..." Snake breathed, looking down at his clothes "Iss feel a little underdressssed..."

"Nonsense!" HIM scoffed, holding out his arm. "You've easily put most of the other diners to shame without even walking through the door."

Taking the proffered arm, Snake hoped that his face wasn't as red as it felt while he was led to the entrance. They were greeted by a centaur in a wine-coloured toga, who exchanged some words with the demon in what Snake recognised as Latin before they were led to a table next to a window overlooking the inky river. The centaur guided Snake to his seat, handing him a menu with a discreet bow when he was seated. Snake smiled and offered a nervous thanks while HIM was seated opposite to him. HIM paused to speak with the centaur, so Snake looked down at his menu.

He wasn't entirely surprised to see the menu was in Latin. He didn't speak Latin, but he did speak some _Italian_, so was able to figure out what a lot of the menu said. He'd been considering some of the mains when he realised that something had been placed in front of him. Looking up, he saw a tall crystal goblet brimming with a golden liquid, with its twin in HIM's claw. The demon was watching him with an amused smile.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were _reading_ that menu."

"I wasss...ummsss...I wasss trying tosss."

HIM's smile twitched a little with what Snake hoped was amusement.

"I never realised you understood Latin."

"I-I don'tsss, but I ssspeak a bit of Italiansss, sso..."

This seemed to be enough, as HIM looked impressed while he nodded.

"They are fairly similar." He conceded, before leaning forward to rest his chin on his claws. "It seems there's a lot more to you than that pretty face, isn't there?"

"I-Isss...uuhh..."

Taken aback, Snake sat up straighter and looked around. Spotting the crystal goblet, he pointed at it.

"What'sss that?"

HIM smiled and lifted his own goblet, filled with the same golden drink.

"Nectar." He replied. "It's quite delicious."

"Ohsss." Carefully lifting the goblet, Snake brought it closer to his face and sniffed at the liquid. He didn't really smell anything, so took a sip.

Sweetness flooded his mouth, so much that he licked his lips without realising. He took a bigger mouthful and looked up at his date with a shy smile.

"It'sss sso ssweet." He gushed. HIM giggled softly.

"I'm _so_ glad that you like it, Snake."

Smiling nervously, Snake looked out across the river as it ran steadily past them.

"Why'sss the water black?" He asked, looking back at his date. HIM glanced idly at the waters.

"I don't know." He replied. "The Styx has always been black..."

Snake's eyes widened.

"The...Ssstyx? Like...in the ssstoriess?"

"Well now, just because it's in stories doesn't mean it isn't also _real_."

"B-but that meansss...we're in _Greeccce_?!"

"Thereabouts, yes."

Snake sat back in his seat, too surprised to respond. He was in Greece, in a restaurant where the menus were written in Latin, on the banks of the river that led to the Underworld!

As far as first dates went, this was easily the most impressive!

"I'm...impresssed." He grinned, shyly taking another sip of his nectar. Looking up, he saw HIM raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Impressed?" He asked.

"Wellsss...nobody'sss ever taken messs to another _country_ on a first datess before."

HIM appeared to consider this, then looked a little embarrassed.

"Well...this is one of my favourite places to eat." He replied, blushing himself. "It never occurred to me that it might _impress_ you."

"Ohsss." Snake looked around at the flame-lit frescos and classical décor, with the fine white tablecloths and baskets of scented herbs hanging from the walls and partitions. The restaurant was set out so that all of the diners were offered seclusion and privacy while enjoying the pleasant background noise from the others around them. What Snake couldn't help but think of as 'fairytale creatures:' centaurs, nymphs and satyrs, went from table to table dropping off or picking up dishes and topping up drinks. Somewhere, somebody was playing music on pipes while another played on something like a harp.

"It'sss lovely." He said softly, unaware that HIM had been watching him with amusement as he had been looking around.

"Well, that's very good." The demon purred, leaning forward a little. "But I didn't bring us here so we could admire our surroundings."

He made a point of sitting back and looking down at his own menu.

"Shall we order something to eat?"

"Ohsss, r-rightss." Snake looked down at the menu he had been studying before. He'd gotten an idea of what he wanted already, but still...

"Ummss...HIM?"

HIM looked up. Smiling coyly, the teen leaned over, and softly placed a finger on HIM's menu at one of the dishes.

"What'sss that ssay?"

They talked about anything and everything while they were waiting for their food. Snake told HIM about his time growing up in Japan with Belinda and the twins, the gang of friends he had at school, and how he had discovered his love of the Visual Kei style. In turn, HIM had told of his own siblings – Snake was surprised to find out he had a younger brother living in Japan, as well as a little sister called Angelique back home.

"Where doess your brother livesss?" He asked, but HIM only shrugged in response.

"I don't know – it's hardly like I would have to travel to find him. I just centre in on his energy and follow, like I would anyone else, and he would for me. Besides, my kind don't always get on with their siblings, so it's not as if I would _ask _him_."_

"What about your sssisster?" Snake had heard genuine warmth when HIM had mentioned her.

"Oh, she's still very young – for our kind, of course."

They had both quickly skirted around the subject of age, and HIM had told of his friendship with Boogie Man, which had started out as a rivalry, but grown into friendship from mutual respect. Some of the adventures he recalled had Snake laughing out loud – even clapping at the more outrageous tales. His reaction seemed to please his date enormously.

Their conversation continued when their food arrived, although the tone became more subdued. Their starter was not too dissimilar to the sharing Antipasti dishes found in many Italian restaurants, and they polished it off quickly. Leaning over the dish brought Snake into close proximity with HIM, and he found himself enjoying the experience not only because of the food. The effects of the nectar, which Snake was suspecting was alcoholic, played a big part in him wishing the demon would close the gap and...

_The...the fucksss?!_

He was recovering from the shock of his unexpected fantasy when their mains arrived, which gave him the chance to sit back and consider the fact that he had just been wanting Townsville's most terrifying villain to kiss him.

He had chosen, with some help from his date, a salmon dish which had been dressed with lemon and oils. A tentative mouthful revealed the flavour to be delicious, so he tucked in happily. A few mouthfuls in, he looked across to see HIM also enjoying his meal and looked down at the dish...

"Ummsss, what'sss that?"

HIM stopped, and looked down as though he wasn't sure himself.

"Venison." He replied after pausing to swallow his mouthful.

"It'sss _raw!_"

"Oh, no, this is just how it comes." HIM skewered another piece onto his fork and held it up, almost as if offering it for Snake's inspection.

"HIM...whateversss that was cut off wass probably sstill _breathing_ at the time!"

This made the demon laugh out loud, and he leaned forward with the morsel still hanging from the fork.

"I know for a _fact_ that isn't how they prepare it." He proffered the forkful. "Here, try it for yourself."

Snake eyed the red strip of flesh doubtfully, but slowly leaned forwards. The demon smiled as Snake took the meat from his waiting fork.

The flavour was strong, but far from dripping with blood as he had expected.

"It'sss chewy." He offered, still leaning forwards. "It'sss a bit...ssstrong, but I guesss it's not sso bad."

He looked down at the dish.

"Sstill looks raw to messs." He murmured. "It tasstess nicccer than it looksss, though."

HIM raised a delicate eyebrow, his lips curling into a smile.

"I wonder if that's true of everything..."

Before Snake could respond, HIM's claw had tilted his chin upwards and closed the gap between them. The teen barely had time to gasp before their lips were pressed together in a gentle kiss.

Squeaking in surprise, Snake's eyes widened briefly. A blush stained the scales of his cheeks and his eyes fluttered closed as his lips responded. His hand rose to rest against the claw holding him as the kiss deepened.

It had been what he had been waiting for since they had started talking, and he was far from disappointed. HIM was nowhere near as possessive as Ace had been, not pushing Snake into reacting or doing anything he wasn't ready for. Though relatively tame – they hadn't used tongues – the kisses sent tingles through his body.

It felt like the kiss lasted forever, yet no time at all. When HIM broke the kiss, Snake let out a breathy noise as he sat down and picked up his fork. HIM licked his lips as he did the same.

"Well, I wouldn't have expected that." He purred.

Snake looked up, with a forkful of salmon halfway to his mouth.

"Wouldn't have exsspected whatss?"

HIM's smile made him tingle; he hoped he wasn't blushing again.

"That those lips of yours could _possibly_ taste better than they look." He licked his lips. "Yet, somehow, they do..."

"O-Ohsss!"

Now he was _definitely _blushing! His free hand flew to his lips and his eyes widened. HIM started to chuckle.

"You are simply _adorable_, my dear."

HIM's laughter was infectious; Snake's lips began to twist into a smile and soon he too was chuckling as well.

"Sstop it..." He giggled, returning to his meal.

They finished their mains without further incident – or kissing – but there was a definite change in the air when their plates were cleared away. They continued to talk as they waited for dessert, but this time their positioning was more _intimate_. They leaned towards one another, Snake's hand in HIM's claw much as they had at the diner the day before. Their voices were much lower this time, and peppered with brief, soft kisses. Snake couldn't remember what they had talked about this time, only that he had almost felt disappointed when the desserts arrived and forced them to part.

He'd ordered a lemon sorbet, which had come served in a fine crystal dish with a golden spoon. HIM had ordered a plate of what he told Snake were dormice dipped in honey, insisting that they had been his favourite dessert growing up. This time, Snake politely declined when he was offered one, and he tried to ignore the crunching noises coming from across the table while he busied himself with his sorbet!

All too soon, it was time for them to leave. As they stood up, the demon outstretched a claw to Snake, which he took hold of. Hand in claw, they were bowed out of the restaurant by the centaur who had seated them.

Outside, the sun had fully set and the stars were out. Snake watched their reflections flickering in the inky waters of the Styx, stopping only when he felt a tug at his hand. He looked to see his date watching him with a soft smile on his face.

"I fear we will have to return now, Snake."

Snake nodded, and let HIM pull him closer. The teen snuggled into his side as they were once again surrounded by pink, fluffy clouds. This time, he wasn't as nervous and noticed that the air turned a little bit warmer while they were enveloped. When the clouds disappeared, they were back outside his house on the drive. The garage door had been opened, but his mother's car was still not there.

"It'sss freezzzzing!" Snake wrapped his arms around his thin frame as the cold night air hit him, trembling slightly.

"Oh, you poor thing!" HIM cooed. He pulled Snake into an embrace. "Is that better?"

Snake chuckled, and snuggled against his date's warmer body happily, his eyes fluttering closed as he returned the embrace.

"Oh yesss." He sighed. "Sso much better."

His eyes opened when he felt lips press against his forehead, making him look up.

"Did you enjoy tonight?" HIM asked.

"Mmm, yesss." Snake blushed, smiling shyly. HIM's grin widened.

"Then perhaps you would like to join me again another night? Perhaps the night after tomorro-?"

"I'dsss love to!"

Snake's eyes widened when he realised just how quickly he had answered. He tried to look away, but HIM's claw guided his face back to look at him. The demon was smiling, but for once Snake wasn't afraid by it.

"Just what I was hoping you would say."

HIM leaned down to capture his lips in another kiss, to which Snake responded eagerly. This time, he felt HIM's warm tongue slide into his mouth, and curled his own up to meet it. All thoughts of the cold fled from his mind; the shivers running down his body now from pleasure. He lifted his arms to wrap around the demon's neck, while HIM's other arm slid down his back, pressing them closer together. Snake whimpered as HIM's tongue overpowered his own, not wanting it to end. He had never been kissed with such skill before tonight; his body was on fire! The tip of his curly beard tickled his chin softly – it was something he quite liked, much nicer than the roughness of Ace's skin...

Eventually, they had to break apart for air, but they didn't pull away for a moment. They remained in their embrace, swapping softer kisses, until HIM reluctantly moved his claw away from Snake's cheek. Slowly, reluctantly, they pulled apart.

"I-Isss..." Snake's voice was breathless from the kiss "I guesss I'd better go inssside. My mother'sss going to be home sssoon."

"Yes, I suppose you better had, my pet." HIM sighed.

Snake nibbled his lip as he turned to the door. Part of him wanted to invite HIM inside to continue with the promises that their kisses had contained, but he knew he couldn't. His sister was upstairs, and if she had opened the garage their mother was definitely on her way home. He turned back to face his...lover? He was finding it hard to think of HIM as his _boyfriend_.

"Goodnight." He said softly. HIM leaned forward and kissed him again.

"Pleasant dreams, Snake." He replied, before stepping back and disappearing into a cloud of pink clouds.

Snake stood alone on the drive for a few seconds, with his fingers on his smiling lips, until the cold coaxed him to go inside.

Belinda was waiting for him as he walked through the door. He could hear the sound of the kettle boiling as he walked into the kitchen. She grinned at his expression.

"Well, I take it from the look on your face that the date went well?" She chuckled, laughing as Snake leaned against the breakfast bar with a happy noise.

"Yesss." He breathed, smiling back at her. Belinda took three mugs from the cupboard.

"Soo...are you going to have another date?" She asked.

Snake picked at his fingernails and smiled.

"The night after tomorrowsss." He replied, looking up as his sister turned to him.

"So soon?" She smirked cheekily. "Looks like someone was keen on you after all."

Snake's cheeks reddened.

"The...the feeling'sss mutual..." He whispered softly, untying his hair so that it fell into its usual style. "I musst have ssounded sso dessperate when I sssaid yess though..."

"I doubt it." Belinda shrugged. "Not when he was the one who asked you on a second date so soon."

Snake blinked, surprised, as he realised his sister was right. He brought the tips of his fingers to brush his lips softly.

"I guesss he did..."

Belinda handed him a mug of tea, leaving her mother's mug to fill when she came home. Together, they moved into the living room and settled down on the couch.

"So..." Belinda grinned, taking a sip of her tea. "Tell me all about it!"

Snake smiled down at his cup.

"Wellsss...he's an amazzzing kissser!"


	5. Chapter 5 - Ace - Do Not Touch

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 5 – Ace – Do Not Touch**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: M/M, language, attempted rape, violence, sexual assault. **_

It was driving Ace _insane_!

Since announcing that he was first going on a date with some mystery guy, Snake had been insanely happy. He'd been on another two dates with him in the past ten days, and a trip to the movie theatre besides. Apparently, he had overheard Snake tell Arturo, the movie itself had turned out to be so bad as to be almost offensive, so they had spent most of it making out.

The thought made him angry. Bad enough that Snake was dating someone else other than him – the fact that he had never expressed a desire to date the serpentine teen before carefully ignored – without Ace having to hear him _laughing_ and _bragging _about it too. To make matters worse, Snake never mentioned his date's name or anything to hint about what he looked like. It was getting harder and harder for him to just swallow his pride and ask him outright.

The mystery guy was obviously as keen on Snake as Snake was on him, given that he had taken Snake to two fancy restaurants and out to a club – one that Snake had gotten into with no problems – as well as the movie theatre! Ace was itching to know what kind of loaded weirdo was willing to go to all that trouble for Snake.

As for Snake...he was changing with every date he went on! He was cheerful and laughed a lot more. There was a sparkle in his eyes now, which Ace had never noticed before, that got brighter whenever Snake mentioned (or appeared to think of) his boyfriend. He was starting to act with more confidence, which was having an effect on the rest of the gang. They were all happy – except for Ace, of course.

He could hear them laughing and joking behind him. For the first time in a long while, Ace felt left out, which made him angry. The Gangreen gang was _his_ gang – he had founded it with Arturo when they had met Big Billy and Grubber. Snake had been the last to join them, giving him the least right to exclude him from anything the gang did! Only Ace got to do that, nobody else!

Subconsciously, he walked with his body hunched forward, deliberately keeping a short distance between himself and his giggling friends. He was so wrapped up in his sulking that he wasn't even aware that he was doing it.

"Hey, Boss."

He turned to find the gang staring at him. Though it was Arturo who had spoken, all four members of the gang were looking at him with worried expressions.

Out of all of them, Snake looked the most concerned.

"What?" He asked, taking his hands out of his jacket pockets.

"You...okay, Ace?" Arturo asked after a pause. Ace scowled at him.

"Fine, why yous askin' me?"

"Well, you were racing ahead of us just then."

Ace felt his cheeks flush, realising he had been letting his temper get the better of him. Angrily, he spun back round so the others wouldn't see.

"M Fine!" He snapped. "S'not my fault yous mugs're walkin so damn _slow_!"

Yes, yes that was better. Shoving his hands back into his jacket, he stormed ahead. A few seconds later, he heard the others as they hurried to catch up with him. He smirked, noting that their cheerful talking and laughter had stopped.

_I'm still the boss – not that stupid slut Snake..._

The sun had come out by the time they reached their shack and the glare was giving Ace a headache. He lay down on the raggedy couch they kept propped against a wall and was soon dozing. A while later, he was woken by the sound of Snake approaching the shack. He sat up just as the reptilian teen appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Boss." He hissed softly. "Feeling betterss?"

"A little, I guess." Snake smiled at him, and held up a can of soda.

"We thoughtss you might feel betterss after a drinkss." He offered, coming across to the couch and holding the can out.

Ace accepted the drink with a smile.

"Thanks, Snake."

He opened the can and took a swig, patting the seat next to him. Snake seemed cheered by this, and sat down to open his own can. He took a drink while Ace studied him behind his shades.

He hated to admit it, but this mystery boyfriend had made Snake look even hotter than ever. The sparkle in his vermilion eyes was surprisingly intoxicating, provided he didn't dwell on the _why_, and Ace found that he wanted to be looked at in that way. He stood straighter, and was more relaxed when he was sat down. Normally he didn't so much sit as he did perch, as though ready to spring away if anyone tried to get near him, especially if he were near Ace.

Yet here he was, sat inches from him without cringing, relaxed and settled fully into the still-firm cushions, sipping his soda happily.

_Beautiful...so fucking _beautiful_..._

As he froze, surprised by the unexpected, traitorous thought, Snake turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Acce? Are youss sure youss feel okayss?"

Ace's eyes followed the flickering tongue as it slipped back between black lips before he blinked and shook his head to clear it.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine, Snake." He replied, offering a crooked grin before moving to face Snake fully. "But, I...uh...I wanted to talk to ya about somethin'..."

Snake set his can into his lap, holding it in both hands and cocking his head slightly.

"Oh, yeahsss? Like whatss, Bosss?"

"Well I, uh..." he fixed his features into something that he hoped looked remorseful "I wanted to, ya know, apologise to ya, I guess."

"For whatss?"

"For the way I acted when you said you had a date." He looked away and shrugged dramatically, looking back. "I acted like a real _brat_ to ya, Snake – really shitty to ya. I...ya didn't deserve to see dat, ya know..."

Snake was looking at him as though he had grown another head – wide eyed, black lips parted slightly.

"Acce..." he smiled shyly "youss don't need to apologissse to messs, reallyss. I...I did kinda...ssspring it on yousss..."

"Well, sure, dat's as maybe, but...well...I shouldn't have called ya a whore." He paused, remembering the day. "Guess I shouldn't have made dat comment 'bout fuckin' ya sister neither."

Snake's expression froze when he said that, so he gave an embarrassed chuckle and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, guess dat part _was_ pretty shitty too." He admitted, genuine this time.

Snake lowered his gaze, running his thumb across the lip of the can. He appeared to consider his words before he spoke.

"Isss...I guesss it wasss..." he hissed softly. "I knowss you don't like Belinda..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think dat part's common knowledge." Ace waved his hand dismissively. "But it's not ya sister I'm wantin' to say sorry 'bout. It's da way I treated _you._"

When Snake looked up at him again, he continued.

"I never expected that you'd end up meetin' someone else, let alone go on a date with 'em."

"Why notsss?!" Snake looked genuinely offended, so Ace offered up a hand in a placating gesture.

"Well, I thought dat yous just wanted ta hook up for a fuck, ya know? I didn't think you were after anythin' serious. Seein' as we were fuckin' a lot -"

"Only whenss _yousss_ wanted to fuckss, Bosss." Snake looked so annoyed that Ace wondered if his attempt at apology had backfired. "Isss have never onccce come to yousss for sssex."

Ace paused, both embarrassed and shocked to realise that he was right: Ace had always been the one to instigate their liaisons since they started. He dipped his head and made a show of pushing his shades up the bridge of his nose to hide his blushes.

"Okay...you're right about dat." He conceded, inwardly amazed at how level his voice was. He looked to see Snake looking a little less irritated.

"Look, Snake," he sighed in frustration, "I think yous can guess I suck at dis apologisin' shit! What I'm tryin' ta say is...I wasn't expectin' you to skip over one day an tell me ya was seein somebody when yous did. I acted like a shit and I regret doin' it, so I wanted to say sorry about it. I don't wanna wreck our friendship over somethin' like dis."

He leaned back, taking a sip of his drink and glancing to the side.

"Ya get me?" He muttered.

For a moment, Snake simply stared at him with a blank expression. He blinked and smiled softly.

"Yesss, I undersstand." He replied. "Iss sshould have told youss I had a date firsst, but the othersss got to me before youss did."

"Yeah, they sure did." Ace snickered. "But, yous didn't really _need_ to tell us nothin' 'bout it – yous coulda just said ya were goin' back home to hang out with Belinda and we wouldn't have known shit."

"But, Bosss, yousss are my friendsss. I wouldn't liesss to yousss about sssomething like thatss." Snake looked sincere as he spoke, then grinned shyly. "Bessidess, you'd have gotten really mad if you found out latersss."

Ace laughed.

"Yeah, sure! I'd be pretty pissed if we'd snuck into the movie theatre and found yous making out with ya boyfriend."

Snake looked away, eyes widening at the thought.

"Ye-eesss..." he said carefully "that would besss...sssomething awkwardssss."

The opportunity was there; Ace's lips were practically _burning _to ask Snake who his boyfriend was. He drew a breath, trying to think up the right words to ask, when Snake took another sip from his can. This time, a drop tumbled from the opening as he was moving and splashed against his lower lip.

"Ohsss."

Quick as a flash, Snake's thin green tongue flickered out to catch the rogue droplet, running over his lips before slipping back between them. Ace's mouth suddenly went dry, memories of the time he had spent...enjoying that mouth filling his mind. That mouth had been his, along with the body it came with, to enjoy, before some mystery creep had just waltzed up and _stolen_ it from him!

_Well...I better just take it back, shouldn't I?_

He took a long swig from his own can and licked his lips, glancing at Snake.

"So, uh, Snake?"

"What isss it, Bosss?"

"You've been seein' a lot of this boyfriend of yours, huh?"

To his annoyance, Snake's face lit up and a soft blush danced across his scaled cheeks. He nodded happily.

"You...seein' him again tonight?"

Snake sighed, shaking his head gently.

"Nosss, I'm not ssseeing HIMss for a couple of nightsss now."

_Perfect..._

Ace grinned, setting his can down on the ground before leaning towards the younger teen.

"Well..." his voice was a low growl "in dat case..."

Snake gave him a confused look.

"Wha-_mmh!"_

Ace's lips covered his just as they parted, keeping them from closing as his tongue slid into his mouth to taste the lemon and lime that still lingered from the drink. He heard the can drop from Snake's hand and onto the dusty floor, felt Snake's hands pushing against his shoulders. He let Snake push him away and broke the kiss. He looked down to see Snake staring back at him, eyes wide and panting softly.

"Wh-what are youss doing?"

Ace smirked and gave a little 'tch' noise in response, reaching round to the back of Snake's head and seizing a fistful of his hair, pushing him into another kiss when he cried out. Snake made a muffled squeak of protest and began to struggle. Ace responded by pushing the weight of his body down on Snake's, which made the younger teen's frantic wriggling much more enjoyable. He could already feel himself growing hard.

"Accce, I've gotsss a _boyfriendsss!_" Snake hissed frantically when he managed to free himself. Ace snorted.

"So what? Ya said yourself you ain't seein' him tonight," he grinned "or for a couple nights after."

"Ssso?"

"_So..._ya won't have to worry 'bout him wantin' ta fuck yous straight after me!"

He dipped his head to kiss Snake again, stifling an incredulous "The fuckss?!" from his soon-to-be lover. Pressing his weight against Snake's, he found the other's wriggling was pretty hot, so ground his hips against him with a growl.

"Accce, sstop itsss!"

To his surprise, Snake actually managed to push him away. He tried to push him back down, but Snake moved his head to the side.

"Accce, no."

Enraged, Ace shoved hard, and his hand started pulling at Snake' shorts, pushing them over his hips. He _was_ going to have Snake, one way or the other! To his annoyance, Snake only pushed back harder.

"No! Isss don't wantsss to! _No!_"

With a cry, he snapped his body upwards, knocking Ace off him long enough to slide off the sofa and onto the floor. Ace's head snapped round to snarl at him as he scrambled to his feet, pulling his shorts back up as he backed away. Ace climbed off the sofa and glared at him. A tiny part of him was protesting, squeaking that this wasn't right, but it was soon drowned in the outraged screams of his anger.

"Get back here!" He growled, baring his sharp teeth at Snake. Snake took another step back, shaking his head.

"Acce, what'sss wrong with yousss?"

"What's _wrong_ with me? I dunno, Snake. Maybe I never counted on yous being an ungrateful little slut and thinkin' ya could go off with other guys, huh? Maybe _that's_ what's wrong with me!"

"Whatsss?" Snake's hands flew up to cover his mouth and a tremor was in his voice when he continued. "Acce, can you jussst lissten to what you're sssaying? Pleasse?"

"I don't need to listen – yous need ta do what I say!" Ace snapped, grabbing Snake by the wrist.

"Let gosss!"

"Sssh...come on now." Ace's voice was low, predatory. He almost didn't recognise it as his own. "We don't want the others to hear us, do we?"

"Theyss already knowsss, Acce. They've known for agesss."

For a moment, Ace paused. The little, insistent voice began protesting at the back of his mind, but he ignored it.

"In dat case, make all the noise yous want, babe. Ain't like dey's gonna come save ya anyhow."

He pulled Snake forwards and tried to kiss him again, but Snake had other ideas. He pulled back frantically, using the other hand to pull at Ace's fingers.

"Let go of messs! Ace, sstop it!"

Ace managed to get him close enough to pull into another kiss, but Snake pulled himself away and screamed.

"_I sssaid NO!"_

_Slap!_

Snake's thin hand whipped across Ace's cheek with enough force to whip his head to one side and knocked his shades to the ground. In disbelief, Ace watched them clatter to the floor and brought a hand to his stinging flesh.

Something in him snapped.

"_You little BITCH!_"

His fist slammed into Snake as hard as he could, sending the teen to the ground with a scream of pain...

The scream was what snapped him out of it. Snake usually hissed, never screamed. The red mist lifted instantly, leaving him stood over Snake, who was trying to pick himself off the ground. Snake looked up at him, eyes wide with fear. The skin on his cheek had been split by the blow, letting a trickle of blood run down the tear-streaked flesh...

Snake _was_ crying, had been since he'd escaped the couch. How had he not seen that until now?

_What...what have I done?_

Unbidden, a long-ignored memory stirred. He had been somewhere with his grandparents for the day, which had been commonplace, and was coming back home. They had opened the door to find his mother on the kitchen floor, trying to pull herself up using the drawer handles. Her face was battered and bloody, her sun-dress torn and spattered with blood and tears. Standing over her, his hands twisted into terrible, bloody fists, was his father – definitely, horrifyingly, sober and very angry.

Ace had been a child – five or six at most – and burst into screaming hysterics as his Nonno had stepped forward and restrained his son, while Nonna had simultaneously held her grandson close and helped his mother to her feet. They had left the house so that Nonno could deal with his father, which had resulted in a stay at his grandparents for several weeks until they finally went back home. Nobody had ever talked to him about what happened, but he had heard his grandparents talking late one night. His grandfather's words came back to him now.

_A real man doesn't raise his hand to his woman, Viola, let alone a fist, no matter what the reason might be..._

Looking back at Snake, who was edging away through the dust, he began to feel sick. The blood seemed to glow, accusing him of spilling it. His own cheek began to sting as if in mockery of what he had done...

"S-Snake..?"

Snake flinched at the sound of his voice, looking up at him fearfully. Ace opened his mouth, desperate to say something – _anything_ – when the door of the shack opened only for the space to be immediately filled by the massive bulk that was Big Billy. Lil Arturo and Grubber had rushed in before him and Ace could only stare dumbly back as they surveyed the scene.

"De fuck's wrong wit' you, Ace?" Lil Arturo thundered, the volume impossibly loud considering his diminutive lungs.

The tiny Mexican's anger was wasted, swallowed up by Ace's horrified daze. He looked back at the gang, his mouth opening and shutting. Meanwhile, Grubber stepped forward and gently coaxed Snake to his feet, guiding him out of the shack. Billy stepped aside so the two could leave, then resumed his guard as soon as they were outside. In the silence he could hear Snake start to cry, punctuated with Grubber's soothing responses.

The sound cut him deep – no less than he deserved, but something was wrong...

"I-I..."

He heard Snake's footsteps fading into the distance. Big Billy looked round at something Grubber had said and nodded.

"Duh, Snake's going home now." He announced to the shack. "Grubber offered to go with him, but he said no."

Suddenly, the cyclops pointed a finger that was thicker than Ace's wrist in the direction of Ace's face.

"_You made Snake cry!_" He bellowed. Ace winced and hung his head.

"I know..." his voice was shaking and tiny. He braced himself, expecting the others to attack him. Snake had become very well-loved by the others, a genuine, cleaner affection than anything Ace had ever shown him. Boss or not, this was a step too far...

But the blow never came. Billy and Arturo looked at one another, confused by his reaction, and simply looked back at him, neither one moving. He looked up at them.

"What you waiting for?" He snapped. "If yous two are gonna do somethin' – do it!"

Nobody moved, though their bodies began to tremble as tears blurred Ace's vision.

"_Please..._" his voice was barely a croak.

Lil Arturo opened his mouth to speak, when a frantic spluttering noise came from outside. As one, Billy and Arturo turned round and rushed out of the shack. Alone, Ace wiped his eyes and retrieved his shades from the floor. Grubber had sounded frightened – that meant a threat!

He could feel guilty once it had been neutralised.

His featured fixed into a familiar expression of anger as he stepped through the door, and quickly looked around at the others. They were all staring ahead, their combined five eyes wide and mouths open in surprise. As his eyes began moving towards the direction the others were looking, he heard Snake's voice, pleading with someone – had his boyfriend come to find him?

He was beginning to think that the guy's voice was familiar, just as he saw a figure in red, black and pink approaching, with flashing yellow green eyes fixed on him...

_Oh, FUCK!_

Before he could even draw a breath, a red claw shot forward and seized him by the throat. He felt his feet lift from the ground and into the air. HIM's bared teeth parted to let out an outraged cry so loud that the entire dump began to shake.

"_**YOU CUT HIS FACE!**_"

With the final word, Ace was flung into a pile of trash, where he screamed as his back collided with the fender of a rusting car. As he slid down to the ground with a whimper, the outraged demon suddenly appeared before him, his scarlet features twisted with rage. Trembling, he came to a terrible, horrifying revelation...

_Snake's boyfriend...HIM is Snake's new boyfriend...and I just tried to _fuck_ Snake!_

_...This is how I die..._

All thoughts fled from his mind, however, as HIM began to rage.

"_**Little BRAT!" **_The demon howled. **_"You DARE to touch what's MINE?! You DARE to HARM HIS FLESH, which you are barely worthy to even LOOK AT?! YOU DARE?!"_**

Ace could say nothing, or do nothing, besides tremble under HIM's furious glare. How could he have ever imagined that the most evil villain in Townsville – if not the _world_ – would have wanted to date Snake? Ace would have named literally _anyone_ before HIM – _anyone!_

HIM's eyes flashed so brightly that they appeared to burn. Ace closed his eyes, preparing for the final blow.

"_**Your suffering will be legendary..."**_

"_Nosss!_"

Ace's eyes snapped open to find Snake stood protectively in front of him, his hands pressed against his boyfriend's chest. Though the thumping of blood in his ears, Ace could hear Snake's breath was ragged with tears.

"Pleasse, HIM, don't hurtsss him any moress..." he pleaded. HIM blinked, somewhat diminished by the tearful teen before him.

"But, my pet – look what he did to your face!" The demon's voice had returned to its normal melodic tone, but Ace still didn't dare move.

"I-I knowss, but...I don't want yousss to hurt him. I...Iss jusst wantss to go. Can'tsss we jussst _go_? Pleasse?"

Ace couldn't see the face Snake was pulling, but HIM was clearly affected by it. His expression softened, and he visibly relaxed.

"Okay, okay my pet." He said, pulling Snake into an embrace. The teen snuggled into it with a relieved sigh, which somehow cut Ace deeper than any blow HIM could have dealt him. He remained where he was, not daring to move, while the two were engulfed in pink clouds. He saw Snake cast a worried glance in his direction, only to turn and smile weakly at HIM as the clouds covered them completely. The mass shrunk, then dissolved into nothing.

"Boss!"

He turned his head at the sound of Arturo's cry and saw the three remaining members of the gang hurrying towards him. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his body and he collapsed back with a cry. Immediately, Grubber was at his side and poking and prodding at him carefully. After a few minutes of both this and asking questions, Grubber determined that Ace had not been seriously injured. He asked Billy to pick Ace up and carry him into the shack. He could rest on the couch for a while...

But Ace freaked out at the prospect of going back to the couch. The thought of laying down where he had literally just tried to rape Snake was too much.

"No! No! Put me down! Put me _down!_"

Billy tried to keep hold of him for a few seconds, so Ace kicked the air and thrashed until the cyclops had no choice but to put him back down. When his feet touched the ground his legs buckled, causing him to stagger and collapse to his knees. Batting away the offers of help, he managed to get back to his feet. Swaying a little, he cast a glance at the shack.

No...he couldn't go back in there tonight...possibly not ever...

Eventually, he had given in and let Arturo walk home with him. They only lived a few streets apart anyway, so it was hardly as though he was going out of his way.

Yet Ace had really wanted to make the journey home alone. If HIM – or Snake, for that matter – decided that he hadn't been punished enough and attacked him, at least the others would be spared the risk of getting hurt.

Besides, he needed to be alone. Not to think or nothing, just...to be alone.

Arturo tried to make conversation, most likely to try and distract Ace from the pain and dizziness that he was evidently suffering from, but Ace just couldn't bring himself to give more than grunts and one-word responses. Considering that he and Billy had looked ready to unleash their own beatdown on Ace before HIM did it for them, it found the sudden concern amusing. He wanted to ask why, but couldn't find the energy.

They reached Arturo's street first, though the Mexican lingered to watch Ace continue on his journey home for a while.

It felt like forever to reach his house, but finally he was walking through the door. His Mom was in the kitchen, smoking what looked like the latest in a long chain of cigarettes. She arched a blonde eyebrow at him when he stepped into the room.

"Yous home early." Her shrill, nasal voice, comically twinned with her unrepentant New York , accent, made his head ache. She wafted some of the cigarette smoke away from her face and frowned at him. "Ya look like shit, Ace. What happened?"

"Fight." Ace moved to the fridge and peered inside, taking a can of orange soda. He looked around as he opened it. "Where's Papa?"

"Gone to da liquor store fer more booze." She cast a disgusted look at the full bottles on the counter. "Apparently we're runnin' out."

She looked at him.

"Looks like whoever it was did a number on ya, dat's fer sure." She narrowed her eyes. "You ain't gonna be needin' ta go ta hospital, are ya?"

"No, Mama." Ace replied softly. "I..uh...just wanna go lie down, kay?"

She threw a bottle of aspirin at him, which he caught out of habit.

"Don't go overdosin' on 'em." She returned to the table and lit another cigarette. "I ain't gonna be tellin' yer Nonna dat yous died cus yer dumb ass don't know how ta take aspirin."

Ace stared down at the bottle in his hand.

"Right, sure Mama." He went to the stairs and looked back at her. "G'night."

She looked back and gave an uncommitted wave and looked away as he walked up the stairs. He couldn't expect more from her – neither of his parents were big on affection.

His room had been exactly as he left it, except some clean underwear had been dumped on his bed. Shoving them into a drawer without ceremony, he shut the curtains and sat on the bed. He pulled off his shades, putting them on the night-stand with greater care alongside his soda can. Carefully, he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the bedpost. The shock was starting to wear out and every movement was sending pains shooting down his back. He managed to slip out of his pants and sock without too much pain, leaving him in his t-shirt and underwear. Carefully, he gripped a sleeve with one hand and pulled his arm out, gritting his teeth against the pain as he repeated the exercise with the other arm. He moved his arms, pushing the material further up his chest until it hung on his shoulders. Finally, he lifted it over his head.

He checked the back of the material, surprised to see no sign of tearing or blood. There was a mirror affixed to his wardrobe, but when he tried to turn his head so that he could check his back the pain was too much for him to manage it. He took some Aspiring, washing them down with soda, and pushed his discarded t-shirt off the bed

Sleep, if he could get some sleep he would give the aspirin time to work. Setting the bottle on the night-stand, he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. He screamed through his gritted teeth as his abused back pressed against the mattress, tears of pain coming to his eyes. For a moment, all he could do was lay rigid and breathe carefully until his screaming flesh quieted. There was no sound of his mother coming to check on him; concern was another thing she wasn't good at.

Ace was left with his own thoughts, which quickly forced him to remember the events that had led to his misfortune. Try as he might, he couldn't explain why he had suddenly tried to force himself on Snake like that. More importantly, he couldn't understand why he hadn't stopped when Snake had made it clear he didn't want to fuck...

Had he ever wanted to fuck in the first place? He'd even pointed out that he had only ever responded to Ace's needs, never for his own. Had what they had been so awful that Snake had seen dating HIM as something _better?_

He shuddered, wincing immediately, at the memory of HIM's attack. The anger in HIM's eyes made the time he had caught them making crank calls on the PowerPuff Hotline seem cheerful and gentle in comparison. Ace had been certain that he was going to die; would have died if Snake...

His breath stilled and his eyes widened at the memory. Snake had jumped in front of him, had _begged_ his boyfriend not to hurt HIM, in spite of what he had done. He'd saved him...

A sob forced his way out of his mouth before he could bite it back, so he slapped a hand over his mouth. As tears began to trickle from his eyes, he abandoned all hope of stifling them. Turning his head, he pushed his pillow against his face to muffle the sound, and sobbed into the material.

By the time sleep finally came to claim him, his tears had soaked into the pillow and his throat was sore.


	6. Chapter 6 - Snake - The Next Stage

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 6 – Snake – The Next Stage**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: M/M, EXPLICIT sex, violence, language. **_

_**Additional Comment: The beginning of this chapter contain continuity errors from Chapter 5. This is DELIBERATE.**_

Snake felt Grubber gently coax him to his feet, but his eyes were too blurred with tears to see anything. He heard Arturo yell at Ace – with a voice that was far too big for him – as he was led from the shack. Billy was stood at the door, but made way for the two to leave. In the sunlight, Snake began to cry. Grubber patted him gently on the shoulders.

"Pffthhbt pff Thhlpt." (_Let me look at the cut on your cheek.)_

Snake winced as Grubber's long, deft fingers softly probed his cheek.

"Tphthhhpt ptpth thhppt." _(It's not as bad as I thought. The bleeding has stopped anyway – I can patch it up.)_

But Snake shook his head sadly.

"It'ss okaysss, G-Grubber." He sniffed. "Isss can patch itsss up myssselfss. I jussst...I wantsss to go homesss now."

"Pthhpt? Pthhh ppttphtp thhhpt, pffp?" _(Are you sure? Do you want me to walk you to the station, at least?)_

"N-nosss. I-Isss jusst needss to be alonesss for a bitsss."

Grubber didn't look entirely convinced as he looked back, to the point that Snake thought he was going to insist on joining him. But instead he seemed to reconsider and nodded in assent.

"Phtthp...Ptph thhpptht pffthp." _(Okay, Snake...just take things easy.)_

Snake smiled weakly and nodded, turning and hurrying away. He had been walking for a few minutes when he heard Big Billy's voice shouting in the distance.

_I guesss Blindie wasss wrong – they _did_ defend messs after allsss..._

He stopped in his tracks, hugging himself tightly.

_But Bindie wasss rightss about one thing – he tried to rapesss me. Accce tried to _rapesss_ me!_

Tears spilled down his cheek, making him wince as some trickled over his split cheek. He choked back a sob, pressing his knuckles gently to his lips.

_Iss knew that Accce wassn't happy about messs dating ssomeoness, but..._

He remembered the look on Ace's face when he had managed to escape from his grip when they were on the couch, the viciousness of his words.

"_Maybe I never counted on yous being an ungrateful little slut and thinkin' ya could go off with other guys, huh?"_

The words had horrified and wounded him – they had almost sounded as though they had been coming from someone else. Sure, Ace was a jerk to him, but to say those things right after apologising...to try and force him into sex...

_I felt filthysss before, when I'd sssaid yesss, but when Iss sssaid nosss..._

His shoulders trembled, more tears filling his eyes until he could hardly see. He let out a sob, then another, and another, until it was all he could do to stay standing.

It wasn't _fair – _he'd been so _happy _up until this point! Why had Ace had to go and ruin it? Why had he _let_ him get close enough to do it in the first place?

He had to get home – he wanted to go home to his sister...

..._no...not Belinda...ssshe'll jussst tell me ssshe told me ssso and get madsss..._

_I want _HIM_...I wantss my _boyfriendsss!

Through his cries he heard the change in the air current that accompanied HIM's arrival and departure; familiar thanks to their recent dates. He wiped his eyes and saw pink clouds dispersing to reveal HIM looking down at him. One look was enough to cause his lover's face to fall.

"Snake?" He reached out to place his claws against Snake's forearms. "_Sweetheart_, what's the matter?"

Snake fell into his arms and burst into tears. He felt his lover hesitate for a second, before pulling him closer.

"Oh _no_! Hush now, my pet, hush, hush." He soothed in his soft, musical voice. "You're safe now..."

But his face fell when Snake looked up at him and he saw the wound on his face. Pulling him close with one claw, HIM gently pressed the other against the damaged flesh.

His eyes began to flash and his face twisted with rage.

"_Who dared to touch you?_" The voice was low, yet Snake felt the air around them tremble with his lover's fury. When he replied, his own voice was barely above a whisper.

"A-Accce..."

He was released from HIM's grip, and he turned to see the demon flying in the direction of the shack. Horrified, he ran after him.

"HIM, no, pleasssse." He sobbed. "Pleasssse don't-"

"He hurt your face, Snake." HIM growled, glancing back at him. "He cannot get away with this."

"Don't hurtsss him..."

"Oh, I'm not going to _hurt_ him, my sweet one..."

Before Snake had a chance to respond, Ace stepped out of the shack. At any other time, seeing his 'tough guy' act while the others stared at HIM in horror would have been hilarious...

Ace's expression changed rapidly to recognition, then to horror, before HIM thrust out a claw and caught him by his throat, lifting him into the air.

"_**YOU CUT HIS FACE!**_" HIM roared, making Snake stop dead in his tracks. He could only watch as his lover flung the teenager's body violently into an old car. As Ace screamed in pain, Snake covered his face in his hands with a cry, feeling the tears begin anew.

"_That's_ your new boyfriend?!"

He turned to see Arturo, Billy and Grubber staring at him, open-mouthed.

"I-Isss...Isss didn't knowsss how to tellsss yousss..." he whispered. "Isss thought youss wouldn't believe messs."

The others looked more scared than angry – Snake could hardly blame them. He would have been exactly the same in their shoes. Arturo looked about ready to speak, when HIM towered over Ace.

"_**Little BRAT!" **_He howled. **_"You DARE to touch one who is precious to me?! You DARE to HARM HIS FLESH, which you are barely worthy to even LOOK AT?! YOU DARE?!"_**

Ace lay there, frozen in terror and unable to do anything but stare back at HIM. Snake could see him trembling, even at this distance. Even after what he had done, Snake couldn't help but pity him. Yet...

At the sight of HIM willing – and able – to leap to his defence, he felt his heart flutter...as well as something within the depths of his belly, stronger than it had during their dates.

_I'msss getting turned onsss! Watchingsss HIM beat Accce up for me isss turning me onsss!_

He kept his hands pressed to his cheeks to conceal the reddening scales, and watched HIM raise himself off the ground. His eyes were flashing; they reflected in the broken windshield behind Ace. Snake's eyes widened as he saw Ace's eyes squeeze shut.

"_**Your suffering will be legendary..."**_

Snake gasped, tears spilling once again from his eyes as he realised that HIM planned to do far worse than beat the teenager. Without thinking, he dashed forward and stepped between his lover and Ace.

"_Nosss!"_

He stared straight up at HIM, stretching his arms out wide. As soon as he appeared, he was relieved to see the light in HIM's eyes die out and replaced by a confused look. With a pleading look in his tearful eyes, Snake pressed his hands against HIM's warm chest.

"Pleasse, HIM, don't hurtsss him any moress..." he pleaded, his voice ragged with tears. Looking down, HIM seemed almost flustered.

"But, my pet – look what he did to your face!" His voice was back to normal, which was something. Snake winced softly as his cheek stung, almost in agreement with his boyfriend's protests.

For a moment, he hesitated, remembering the scream of pain Ace had made when HIM had flung his body into the car. Sure, he didn't want Ace to get away with hitting him after almost raping him, but he was pretty confident that HIM would have gone far beyond vengeance. He moved a little closer.

"I-I knowss, but...I don't want yousss to hurt him. I...Iss jusst wantss to go. Can'tsss we jussst _go_? Pleasse?"

As he had hoped, HIM reached over and pulled Snake into an embrace

"Okay, okay my pet." He soothed. Snake sighed with relief, allowing himself to snuggle into HIM's arms. He caught a quick glimpse of Ace, hoping his injuries weren't too severe, as they were surrounded by pink. He smiled up at HIM, weakly so as not to hurt his face.

"Wheress are wesss going?" He asked softly.

"Back to my place, so I can fix your cheek." HIM replied.

No sooner had he spoken, the clouds parted and Snake found himself in what had to be his boyfriend's lounge. At first, everything seemed to be normal: a television set in front of a lilac and pink couch and well-loved armchair, and the floor was covered in a light pink carpet. Some other furniture: a coffee table, a chocolate brown rug, and a small table with a telephone on it, seemed strangely ordinary.

Then, he looked up.

"Ohsss..."

There were no walls, and there was no ceiling. Where those should have been was a moving, undefinable mass that could only be thought of as Chaos. Snake was sure he could see scenes from old movies playing in the empty air. Floating around were fragments of earth, on which he could see the other rooms of HIM's house.

"Howsss...howsss do youss manage to get anythingsss done?"

HIM looked around as though seeing the chaos for the first time. He seemed to consider for a moment before shrugging.

"You get used to it." He replied, leading Snake to the couch. "Now, let's fix that cut."

Snake obeyed, letting himself be guided to a seat while HIM sat next to him. A bowl full of water and a small cloth appeared in HIM's lap, which Snake looked down at.

"Well, I want to get it clean first." The demon replied, dipping the cloth into the water before pressing it to Snake's cheek. "Hold still, my pet – this might sting."

"I'm finesss." Snake protested. "I thoughtsss you could jussst heal it away."

"Obviously, but it's gone all..." HIM wrinkled his nose in disapproval and Snake bit back a smile "..._crusty! _I need to be able to see what I'm doing...oh, it's bleeding again."

He applied a gentle pressure to the wound. Once again, Snake felt the sting disappear beneath HIM's claw, just as it had with the bruise. When HIM removed the cloth, Snake ran his fingers across his uninjured cheek.

"Th-Thanksss." He murmured. HIM put the bloodied cloth back in the bowl and the two vanished, much as they had arrived. HIM frowned, but it was a petulant expression rather than an angry one.

"I wish you hadn't stopped me earlier." He sulked. Snake looked at him.

"Yousss were going to killsss him!"

"So what? Do you think I don't know what he wanted to do to you?"

"He didn't dessserve to diesss for thatsss!"

At this, HIM pouted and glanced away.

"You could have let me carry on for a little longer – enough to break an arm or something..."

"HIMssss..."

"Well, you could have! As it stands, he's gotten away with nothing more than a _teensy_ bruise!"

Snake found himself chuckling at his boyfriend's sulky tone. The demon was sat with his back against the couch, arms folded and slumped against the cushions. His lips were still curled into a pout. In spite of that, Snake still thought he looked pretty sexy, especially given his more recent actions.

"I thinkssss it wasss more than a _teensssy_ bruise, HIM." He purred, leaning closer and placing a hand on his arm. The demon stopped pouting and glanced at him, the sulky expression now a mixture of curiosity and surprise. Snake bit his bottom lip, and smiled shyly.

"I meansss, you threw him ssso _hard_ into that carsss, I betsss he'll be in ssso much painsss he won't be abless to move at allsss tomorrowss. Doing anything worsssse would have jussst _sspoiled_ it for messs."

HIM had visibly relaxed, eyebrow raised and his lips curled into a smile.

"Really?"

His smile widening, Snake shuffled closer and nodded.

"Mhmmsss, I _lovesss _the idea of Accce knowingss that Isss have yousss to protectsss me from himss." He leaned closer so that his lips almost brushed against the demon's cheek. "That'sss ssso much more..._exccciting_ to me than killingsss him..."

HIM turned to face him, cupping his healed cheek in a claw.

"I can see why that would please you, my pet." He cooed, but then his voice lowered. "But if he dares to hurt you again, I will tear him limb from limb!"

_Likesss he'sss going to hurtsss me again when he knowsss who I'm with!_

Snake's cheeks were burning; the thought of having a lover willing to do that for him intoxicating. He lifted his hand to rest against the claw, and leaned in to plant a soft kiss against it.

"I knowsss." He whispered, leaning in until their lips were just brushing together. "Thank yousss..."

His hand slid up to the back of HIM's head as they kissed, whimpering softly as he felt the other claw moving to the small of his back, pushing it closer.

Their kisses had intensified over the course of their three dates, leaving Snake's body on fire when they eventually parted. The night at the movies had almost left him begging his lover to take things further – to take _him_ with the same burning passion. But HIM had never taken things as far as he had wanted and he hadn't dared to push...

But this time, Snake was determined that he was going to spend the night with more than just fantasies. He _wanted_ HIM, more than he had ever wanted any of his previous lovers, enough to take matters into his own hands!

As they broke apart for air, Snake placed his hands on his lover' shoulders and pushed him back into the cushions. HIM looked surprised, but did nothing to stop him as he straddled the demon's lap and leaned in for another kiss.

Far from pushing him away, or even hesitating, HIM kissed back with such naked _hunger_ that Snake moaned into the kiss. His hands settled on either side of his lover's face as claws pressed firmly against his backside, grinding it against a rapidly hardening arousal.

The feeling was intense enough that Snake moaned loudly, breaking the kiss. A thin string of saliva briefly kept their lips connected as they looked at one another breathlessly. HIM surveyed him for a moment, before raising an eyebrow in a silent, obvious question..._do you want this?_

Still panting, Snake smiled softly and responded with a single, almost imperceptible, nod of assent.

It was enough, as HIM's eyes lit up before his mouth latched onto Snake's neck and suckled at it hungrily. Snake's head leaned back and he moaned again, eyes closing as his neck was ravaged.

It looked like they were going to do it on the couch; the parallel to his earlier encounter with Ace was not lost on him. He felt a claw slide under his tank and arched his back at the contact...

He opened his eyes when he felt HIM's weight shift against him and his back pressed against something soft. They were no longer in the lounge, and the canopy of a huge four-poster bed was above him. In spite of himself, he looked around enough for HIM to detach his mouth from its task and lift himself up.

"I thought you might prefer something a little more...fitting." He panted, lips curving into a smile.

Touched, Snake returned the smile and lifted his head to pull pull his hat off completely. Tossing it onto the night-stand, he lifted his arms to his lover and guided him down for another kiss.

They enjoyed the simple intimacy, grinding against one another, for a little while longer. Snake was the first to grow impatient, letting his hands wander down to HIM's belt. After a few moments of blind fumbling, he unfastened the buckle. As he did so, he felt HIM's claw lifting the hem of his tank. Breaking the kiss, he lifted his arms so HIM could pull the top over his head. As the demon flung the offending object to the floor, Snake reached out to repeat the action with HIM's dress. It pulled off easily, and it joined his tank on the ground as HIM pinned him with another kiss.

Snake moaned into the kiss as their bare flesh pressed together, growing louder as HIM's lips started kissing a trail down his chest and stomach. His fingers dug into the comforter as his shorts slid over his hips and down his legs. He felt his sneakers unfasten and get pulled off with his socks even as his shorts were flung to the ground. He heard two more thuds, which he guessed to be HIM's boots, and the demon was upon him once again for another kiss.

He grabbed hold of Snake's wrists, slipping the bands off them before guiding them to the bars of the headboard. Realising the intention, Snake gripped the horizontal bars tightly and HIM started kissing his way down to his boxers.

"Pleassse..." Snake hissed "don'tsss...don'tsss teassse messs..."

HIM looked up at him, his claws rested on the fabric.

"Don't worry, my sweet." He soothed. "It'll be worth it."

Snake lifted his hips to give his lover easier access, and soon his boxers were sliding down his legs. HIM settled between them, flashing him a reassuring look before lowering his head. Snake's back snapped upwards and he screamed as his arousal was engulfed in the heat of his lover's mouth. The scales on his cheeks flushed crimson as he panted helplessly, his legs spread wider and pushed up towards his body by HIM's claws.

Snake had never experienced a blow-job such as this one. He knew his previous boyfriends – and Ace – had enjoyed his own efforts, but he had never received that many in return, especially none that had been this good. His hips rocked gently in response to HIM's attentions, as much as he could manage with HIM's grip on his thighs. He bit his lip and his eyes rolled to the back of his head with sheer pleasure.

"HIMsss...ssso _goodsss_...mmsss..." he groaned, closing his eyes against the feeling...

They snapped open again as he felt..._something_ pressing inside him. The sensation felt a lot like thick fingers, but HIM's claws were still holding his thighs firmly. He looked down, but he could see nothing beyond his lover's head bobbing up and down.

"Wh-whatsss..." He managed, eyes widening as he felt the pressure stretch his insides. His back arched, and his question was lost in a long moan of pleasure.

"_Aaahsss...ooohhsss..._I-Isss_...nnhsss..._I'msss_..._"

Suddenly, he felt a second pressure building in his groin rapidly and gripped the bars harder. His eyes closed and his head fell to one side, panting urgently.

"Ahhsss...HIMssss...I'msss gonna...I'msss gonna..._aAAAaahhh!"_

As if ignoring the claws holding them down, Snake's hips snapped upwards as his orgasm struck him hard. He faintly heard his lover grunt as the waves of pleasure rolled over him, then a swallowing noise. As his breathing began to calm, HIM crawled up and coaxed him into another kiss. He hesitated for a moment as he tasted himself on his lover's tongue, before his arms dropped from the headboard and wrapped around HIM's neck. Their bodies entwined, writhing together in an increasingly sweaty embrace. Snake could feel his body quickly responding to the attentions, and he was soon aroused again. As for HIM...

Snake whimpered into the kiss as HIM's arousal pressed insistently against him. At some point, he must have removed his own underwear, as it was definitely bare flesh rubbing against him. It was hot, almost impossibly hard, and it felt..._big_!

As their lips parted, Snake looked at his lover for a moment. As aroused as he was, he had to know.

"Wh...whatssss did yousss put...inssside messs earliersss?" He panted.

"Oh, that?" Snake was a little pleased to see that HIM was also flushed and panting. "It...was telekinesis..." He lifted a claw and waved it around. "These aren't...aren't exactly...the best things for...foreplay, you know?"

"Huh...it feltsss pretty goodsss..."

He lifted his head to kiss HIM again, but the kiss was short-lived. HIM soon broke the kiss and looked down at him.

"Are you sure that you want this, my pet?" He asked in a soft voice.

Snake blinked up at his lover, confused for a moment, until he realised that HIM was making absolutely certain that this was consensual after what happened. Smiling, he nodded.

"Yessss, I wantsss thisss – I wantsss _yousss." _He whispered.

HIM's eyes lit up as he pulled back, moving his body into position. As he did, Snake looked down and caught a glimpse of...

_Ooohsss! He _iss_ big!_

His eyes widened as he admired his lover's arousal. Ace was definitely thicker, but HIM was visibly longer, and he already knew how hard he was. HIM's eyes raised to meet his, so he looked away and bit his lower lip in anticipation, which earned him a chuckle. He felt the back of his thighs resting against his lover's chest, and then the head of HIM's hard cock pressed insistently against his entrance.

"_Aaahsss!" _He cried outas his body gave way to the very wanted invasion and HIM stabbed inside with a low growl. Grabbing hold of the bedding under his hands, he arched his back against his lover, trying to get more of him inside sooner. "Oohsss, you're sso _hardsss! _Ssso _bigsss!"_

Teeth bared slightly, HIM leaned forward, effectively folding the teen in half as his thighs were pushed closer to his torso as their bodies joined further. They both groaned as HIM pushed himself fully inside, the Demon's claws coming to rest on either side of Snake's head while they both adjusted to one another.

"I...didn't expect you...to be this..._tight!_" HIM panted, his forehead pressing briefly to Snake's before lowering his lips to kiss him. Whimpering into the kiss, Snake lifted his hands to grip the headboard tightly. After a while, he lifted his hips to signal he was ready, breaking the kiss to cry out as HIM responded with a hard thrust.

HIM continued to slam his hips against Snake's, starting slowly but gradually building up speed until Snake could feel the whole bed rattling underneath and around them – even over his own hisses and moans. His hands gripped the bars so hard that his knuckles were white.

"_Nnnghsss! _HIMssss...aaahhhsss...feelsss ssoo...ohhhsss..."

His thighs burned from the stretched positioning, and he knew that he was going to be _very_ sore later, but the pleasure he felt as HIM thrust into him was worth it. This was nothing like the clumsy attempts of his previous lovers – over-enthusiastic and inexperienced teenagers – this was a lover who knew what he was doing!

It wasn't long before HIM's thrusting hit the secret spot inside him that made Snake see stars. His body tensed around his lover with a shout, which in turn caused HIM to falter with a cry of his own.

"Ohhhss! HIM – theresss! Right theress – _theresss!_"

HIM's thrusting began anew, this time aiming straight for the spot he had struck earlier. Though he had been trying to meet his lover's thrusts, soon Snake found himself pinned and unable to do anything beyond moan. His legs shifted, slipping from HIM's sweating shoulders and wrapping around his waist. He let go of the headboard and wrapped his arms around HIM, bringing their bodies closer together and trapping his own arousal between them.

"Don't ssstopsss..." he whimpered "don't ssstopsss..._pleassse...nnhsss..._HIM...Issss_..._"

HIM growled into the crook of his neck, reaching up to grab the abandoned headboard as he nipped at the scaled flesh. Their bodies slipped and slid against one another, slick with sweat, as they both neared the edge together.

Suddenly, Snake felt his orgasm nearing rapidly. His hands bunched into tight fists over HIM's back.

"H-H-HIMsss...I-I'msss gonna...I'm g-gonna..."

His eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat as he reached his climax. He felt his entire body stiffen and push itself against HIM, opening his mouth as he screamed his lover's name. As he clamped around HIM's arousal, the demon growled in surprise, biting into his neck hard enough to draw blood before letting out an almost-roar into the flesh. His hips slammed into Snake as he climaxed deep inside him, pressing hard against his hips.

His seed was hot inside Snake's body, but not enough to burn. Relaxing his grip, he lay back against the sheets with a contented sigh and let his hands run down HIM's back.

"Mmmhssss..." he moaned softly as he felt HIM withdraw from his exhausted body and move to lay beside him. Immediately, Snake rolled to snuggle closer to his lover and was pulled into a lazy kiss, their legs tangling together.

"Well," HIM chuckled, playing absently with a lock of Snake's mussed hair, "that wasn't exactly what I thought would happen today." Snake giggled breathlessly.

"Me neithersss." He agreed. "Butss I'm gladsss it didsss."

"Me too." HIM kissed the bridge of Snake's sharp nose. "To tell the truth I had been hoping this would happen soon."

Snake giggled, looking away for a moment.

"I'dsss been hoping we'dsss have sssex sssoon pretty much aftersss our firssst date. Isss...Isss didn't wantsss you to thinksss I wass a whoresss for asssking too sssoon."

HIM laughed, pulling Snake closer to him, which the teenager responded to with a happy giggle, snuggling into the warmth of the embrace.

"I'd be the worst kind of hypocrite if I did, my pet." He pushed a lock of hair out of Snake's eyes. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Touched by the concern, Snake shook his head and kissed his lover softly.

"Nosss. I feelsss pretty goodss, consssidering."

He was surprised by the mischievous grin spread across HIM's face, and squeaked when he felt something _familiar_ start pressing against him...

"The day's not over yet, my dear..."

Before Snake could react, he found himself on his back under his lover and in the middle of another hungry kiss. Despite his exhaustion, Snake kissed back, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"A-againsss?" He panted as HIM's lips danced their way down his neck. He found his body was already responding to the anticipated assault. "I-Isss ssshould probably call my sssissster..._oohsss..._"

His body arched as HIM rolled their hips together.

"Ooohsss, mmhsss...HIMssss...Isss – guh! Ohhsss...I-I..."

With a groan he leaned up and crushed his lips to HIM's, then cried out as his legs were parted.

"_Aaaahsss...I'll do itsss latersss!_"


	7. Chapter 7 - HIM - Possession

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 7 – HIM – Possession**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: Sex references, M/M**_

Many people believe that demons cannot love. Given the revulsion with which they respond to human love, it is far from an unreasonable assumption.

It is, however, completely wrong.

Demons are very capable of both feeling and accepting love, but their way of doing so is different to humans.

HIM was no different; he had many people that he loved. Not many people would believe it to see them interact, of course, but those people hardly mattered.

He loved his parents, obviously, though he couldn't always say that he _liked_ them. Being gods, his father was neutrally aligned and his mother was good. Neither of them tried to stop his alignment to evil, but there were only so many times that he could listen to their lectures and insist that it wasn't a phase.

Phases didn't last for millenia, after all...

He loved his sister, Angelique, dearly. He was fiercely overprotective of her, for she was tiny and prone to moments of naivete – she looked up to her eldest brother, for a start! They also shared a similar style in spite of looking so different and had compatible senses of humour, so spending time with her was always enjoyable. She was also very useful for keeping up communications with their parents, for her position as youngest child and only daughter meant she could do no wrong in their eyes.

As for his brother, he loved him too – though he would never admit it. That was where the differences in how demons loved began to show...

They had never shared embraces or other obvious signs of affection, but that was not to say that they did not care for one another. There was a definite possessiveness to their relationship, a fury if the other was hurt by someone other than themselves. HIM had personally levelled cites, both personally or by bringing about natural disaster, in response to his brother being injured by the enemy of the time. His brother was much weaker than him, as well as ridiculous, badly dressed, and irrationally afraid of the cold. But as his older brother, saying such things were not only his right, but expected. Woe betide the fools who tried to do the same...

He would insist that these acts of vengeance were simply a matter of maintaining his own honour: an insult against any of his family would indirectly reflect on HIM. But deep down, there was another thing that would continue to fuel his ire, something that was coated in the affection he denied was there...

Nobody was allowed to hurt his brother except HIM! Anyone who even _thought_ of hurting his family – those who were _his_ – would have to pay with suffering at the very least. If he'd had the chance, he would have proven that very thing to Ace, even if his actions hadn't been _entirely_ his fault...

He was surprised at how quickly he had grown so fond of Snake. Before he had met his lover's sister, Belinda, he had never seen the boy as more than an idiotic teenaged brat – one who had seen no danger in prank calling the PowerPuff girls. Then Snake's sister, the infectious Belinda, had stumbled her way into the diner with her satchel stuffed with books. He knew she looked familiar, but quickly got distracted by her complete lack of fear in his presence. Curious, he found himself getting befriended by her, fascinated by her cheerful and friendly demeanour. When she got into medical school, he invited her to the Boogie man's private club to celebrate. Without a moment's hesitation, she had cheerfully accepted, though she had seemed worried when she first stepped through the 'door.' Soon enough, she realised that she wasn't in any danger from the monsters and was quickly surrounded by freakish admirers – until the Boogie man himself caught sight of her.

HIM had certainly never considered the idea of his childhood friend being attracted to this bubbly teenager, but attracted he was..._very_ attracted indeed! Belinda surprised him too, visibly impressed by the grey-skinned monster and flirting back with equal keenness. She was clever too – not giving him anything beyond smiles and fluttered eyelashes while still making it clear that more was attainable. HIM could be nothing but amazed – the girl was impressive!

After a few weeks, just before she was due to head off to start her studies, she had seemed distracted. Gentle probing had eventually revealed that she was worried about her little brother Sanford, who was better known by the name _Snake_.

Apparently, Belinda was concerned that her brother wouldn't cope well with her leaving – given their closeness growing up. He had befriended a group of teenagers who had green skin like he had and called themselves the Ganggreen Gang – HIM had made noises that the name was familiar but missed out the fact he had beaten them up not too long ago – and was spending a lot of time with them. While she liked three of them, it was the gang's leader, Ace, that she was concerned about. She knew that her brother liked him – a _lot_ – even though Snake was well out of his league, but Ace just saw him as something to use. Snake had introduced them to her a few months before, upon which Ace had almost immediately prepositioned her in front of her brother and the other three. Disgusted, she had rejected him outright and made it _very clear_ that he had overstepped the mark with her. He had taken her rejection badly, clearly not used to being told no. He practically spat at her whenever he had to speak to her and had made it clear he didn't want her around. She was worried that Ace would take out his anger on her brother – he had already been coming home with so many bruises - who seemed even more infatuated with the horrible teen. She had asked HIM what she should do to make sure Snake was safe. HIM had suggested that she tell her brother about her concerns. He would value her opinion and no doubt his infatuation would quickly lessen if Ace behaved like this with other girls. She wasn't happy, but agreed.

He had only heard from her occasionally when she started her course, though he found out from Boogie that she had gotten a tattoo and gone on a few dates with him. There had been no mention of her brother until she returned after her exams.

Then he'd had a phone call. Whispering because Snake was in the bath – a sight he had since enjoyed more than once – she asked him what else she could do. Ace and Snake had started having sex some time ago and Snake had gotten a black eye as a result of their last liaison. She was planning to bring him to the diner, in the hope they could talk some sense into her love-blinded brother together. HIM had thought that his presence would only terrify Snake into agreeing to anything just to get away, but Belinda gave him little choice in the matter when she hung up abruptly.

A couple of hours later, she dragged – _literally_ – her terrified brother into the diner. Snake watched him greet his sister like a deer caught in headlights, obviously stunned and confused by what he was seeing, before being pulled to sit down. HIM had spotted the blackened eye as soon as they had walked in, but he waited until he had put Snake's pancakes – his favourite – down in front of him.

It was when he had a hold of Snake's chin that he noticed the teenager's scales. He knew that Belinda had scales growing sporadically on her face and body, which she kept covered up with her clothes and make-up. She had told him that her siblings all had more scales than she had, with Ivy and Sanford being completely covered like their mother, but he had not realised just how _exquisite_ they were until he was in close proximity to them. Like tiny dragon scales, they caught the light with flashes of green and blue, turning red when he blushed as though each one were filling with blood. The bruise under his eye was a literal offense, daring to ruin Snake's developing beauty.

It was only then that he had realised just how similar Snake and Belinda looked, yet Snake was that little bit more _pleasing_ to his eyes.

The flirting came naturally, encouraged by Snake's positive reactions and flirting back. Eventually, HIM had decided to send a message to the Boogie Man alerting him to Belinda's presence in the diner, doing his friend a favour while simultaneously distracting Belinda enough for him to focus more on Snake.

Snake responded even more positively than he had hoped when he asked him out – barely containing his giddiness as he agreed to their date, worrying only about what he should wear. He had to leave shortly afterwards, regrettably, but HIM found himself looking forward to the date – so much, in fact, that he endured Boogie's teasing without reproach for almost a minute!

On the night of their date, Snake had looked positively _edible_ in the tight jeans and wide-collared jumper! He had decided that they would go to one of his favourite restaurants for their date, which had impressed Snake from the moment they arrived. It had never occurred to HIM that the location – on the banks of the styx – would be impressive, but Snake's wide-eyed expression was certainly not faked. He had chosen the restaurant as it was somewhere he felt comfortable, yet he found himself almost entranced by the wonder with which his date looked around them.

He was also pleased by the way that Snake was willing to try things when offered them, sipping thoughtfully at the nectar he had ordered for them and leaning curiously over their shared starter. Their conversation, though mundane in subject manner, was sparkling in its enthusiasm. Snake didn't hang on his every word like a mindless sycophant – which HIM was now truly embarrassed to think that he had expected – but _listened_ as he spoke. He absorbed HIM's words with genuine interest, punctuating the attentiveness with questions that proved he had. His laughter was genuine and his pleasure natural. HIM felt his interest in the teenager growing stronger.

He'd wanted to kiss Snake not long after they had sat down, had seen the hopeful glances cast his way as they had leaned over their starter. He had resisted until Snake had taken a mouthful of venison. It was clearly an involuntary act, but as Snake swallowed the morsel he had licked his lips...

Except, he hadn't. Instead of running over his lips and retreating back between them, the forked tongue had _danced _over them, tempting – almost _daring _him to chase it as it retreated. It had been all he could do to stop himself from dragging the boy over the table to ravage his mouth, but managed to catch his chin and pull him into their first kiss.

Snake had responded positively to that kiss, as well as the ones that followed while they waited for dessert. His lips were soft and smooth every time they pressed against his own, keeping him hungry for more.

He got a proper kiss when their date ended, after Snake agreed to see him again two nights later and was far from disappointed. His hunger for the teen intensified from a smouldering desire to an inferno. He longed to seize the boy, to spirit him away and take him until both were reduced to a sweating, breathless messes. He yearned to hear the sounds his attentions would pull from Snake's throat: the moans, the pleas for mercy...or for more.

But he held back from doing these things, deciding instead to wait until Snake made the move himself. He could see a similar desire burning brighter each time he looked into the other's red eyes, could see the question hovering on his lips. It would not be long...

So he had 'amused' himself by identifying potential threats to Snake's affection for him.

The most obvious threat would be Belinda – she was guaranteed to have Snake's ear whenever she needed it. He would keep an eye on her, certainly, but he didn't think she was any danger to him right now. She liked HIM, after all, as he had become _her _friend first and there was nothing about him that had put her off so far, nor had he given her reason to. Not to mention, he had an insurance policy in the form of Boogie, who was now definitely dating the girl for real. If Belinda's opinions of him began to sour, HIM would have plenty of warning.

The only other threat – if you could call them that – were the other members of the Ganggreen Gang. At first he had disregarded Big Billy, Grubber and Lil Arturo as beneath his concerns, until Snake had started talking about them. It was clear that his little lover held them in high enough esteem that their opinions would hold some weight too. Yet, he was certain that he could intimidate all three of them into silence if they ever did muster the courage to speak out against him without causing physical harm.

That only left Ace...

Snake had only mentioned Ace occasionally during their times together, but it had been enough to demonstrate that some romantic affection still lingered there. HIM did not like the prospect of a clearly lesser male standing as a rival for Snake's affections, so Ace had to be removed.

Killing him would be out of the question, as such a dramatic removal would likely cause Snake to run away. This problem would take a little more cunning to resolve.

He allowed himself a smile as he remembered the discovery of Ace's jealousy. The teenager's fragile ego and superficial self-worth would not allow for anyone to appear better than him. The prospect of Snake – who he regarded as his own personal sex-toy – entering into a proper relationship was far too much for him to bear. Ace had entered into a self-pitying depression upon learning Snake had a boyfriend, going into tearful rages when he was alone and constantly entering into vicious and sulky inner monologues about Snake's 'ingratitude.' He was such a little brat that HIM almost pitied him for it. As it were, he had plenty to work with to make sure Snake's lingering affections were well and truly destroyed.

It had been so simple to stoke the fires of Ace's jealousy whenever Snake talked about the dates they had been on, with the additional bonus of hearing for himself just how _happy_ his little pet was. There was so much raw material to work with that he didn't have to try.

Soon enough, Ace started being outwardly hostile to Snake, to the extent that the others began to speak up in protest. Ace's jealousy was so obvious and Snake's dwindling affections equally so.

There was no way he could have predicted that Ace would try and rape his problems away though! He'd expected that Ace would verbally abuse Snake to breaking point, perhaps even strike him again, but to try forcing Snake into sex...

He hadn't realised until much later, of course, fortunately for the little brat. What he _had_ noticed however, was a sense that his lover needed him and was inadvertently calling him through their fledgeling bond. Following the boy's energy, he was dismayed – and a little guilty – to find Snake in floods of tears in the middle of the dump. Naturally, he had gathered Snake into his arms to comfort him and had noticed the wound on his lover's tear-spattered cheeks. He hadn't needed to, but asked who had hurt him anyway. When Snake had choked out Ace's name, he had seen red and stormed off in the direction of the hideout.

He got in one violent strike, allowing himself a moment to savour Ace's fear and pain even as he raged, before Snake stepped between them. To his own surprise, the sound of Snake's tearful pleas were enough to distract him from his deserving victim. He allowed Snake to persuade him to show ill-deserved mercy and took his boyfriend home to tend his wound.

Once they were there, the little minx changed tactic: going from weepy to seductive as soon as his cheek was healed! No longer annoyed at being denied his fury, HIM sat back and let Snake lure him into a kiss. He was a little surprised when Snake slid into his lap, though delighted at the clear intentions behind the move. Quickly seeking consent – and a second affirmation later on – HIM and Snake finally devoured one another in an intense, sweaty coupling.

He knew Snake was far from virginal – it was one of the things that the boy had over his confident sister – so his lover's lack of nerves was enjoyable. What he hadn't expected was the tightness, especially as Snake had admitted to several lovers in the past as well as regularly being used by Ace before he started dating HIM. Not that he was complaining, even less at the sound of Snake's loud praise of his size and skill.

Their first coupling had been intense and enjoyable, but was over far too quickly. No sooner had HIM's initial desires been sated, they began to burn anew. Fortunately, Snake welcomed him with equal fire for a second, furious coupling. A quick call to a startled Belinda to say he was spending the night, and Snake was back in HIM's arms for what quickly turned into a third coupling, this time ending with Snake riding his cock _hard_!

Exhaustion had taken them both after that, leaving their sweaty limbs entwined where they slept soundly amid tangled sheets. They had awakened some time later, when Snake found that he was _sore –_ too sore to move! HIM had been obliged to heal his aching body before they took a lovely, hot bath together – with a little heavy petting mixed in. Snake was pleased by the crisp, clean bedding that HIM had switched with the sweat-soaked ones as they had bathed.

They had spent much of the day in that bed, spending the time between couplings and foreplay in snacking or simply curled up together. Even HIM had no idea that the whole day had been spent in this sanctuary until a phone call from Belinda broke the spell. This time, Snake talked to his sister about the previous day – HIM heard how distressed she was and was impressed that her brother could calm her so quickly. Once satisfied that he was okay and safe with HIM, Belinda announced that Boogie had invited her to his club for the evening. By unspoken agreement, Snake stayed another night with his lover.

It was how HIM found himself in bed, comfortable and watching Snake as he slept soundly in his arms.

He had only agreed to speak to Snake...was it really only a week ago...as a favour to the boy's strangely trusting sister. There had been no real romantic intentions and only the vaguest sexual intentions when he had begun, but now...

The more time he spent with Snake, the more he wanted. Even now, watching the boy sleep with his head pillowed against his chest, HIM fought against the urge to wake him. Instead, he admired his little pet's features: his scales which shimmered in the right light; the long, almost feathery lashes that framed his vermilion eyes; his supermodel-delicate features. Even his lips, a rich dark green without their cover of black lipstick, fascinated him – particularly since he had discovered the pleasures they and his wonderful tongue were capable of granting. Snake's long, black hair fanned out over his and HIM's shoulder, until HIM gently ran a claw over it. Making a tiny humming noise, Snake moved closer and snuggled against HIM, his lips curving into a faint smile as he slept and his hair dropped to reveal the smooth scales of his back. Carefully, HIM lifted the covers a little closer around them, wrapping his arms around the boy and kissing the top of his head.

There was no denying that this was a little more than a passing interest, more for both of them. Snake was _intoxicating_, in a way that HIM could never have imagined from a mortal teenager. Nobody had captivated him so utterly before. Mere weeks before, he had viewed Snake as another pitiful teenager – if at all – who wanted to play at villainy. But now...

He could feel the possessiveness stirring within his breast as he watched Snake sleep. That was something he had to keep in check for a little longer. He had taken pains despite his outrage to make sure that the words he had screamed at Ace sounded _slightly_ different to Snake's ears. Humans were so fussy about being perceived as _belonging_ to a lover, though among demons it was standard behaviour. Given enough time, Snake would see things his way, of that he was certain.

"Oh my sweet little pet!" He sighed softly at his sleeping lover. "I fear that I will never be able to let you go..."


	8. Chapter 8 - Ace - Blame & Confrontation

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 8 – Ace – Blame and Confrontation**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: Language, Racism, Sexism, Domestic & Child Abuse,**_

Ace had cried himself to sleep that night, waking up to find his body was too sore to move in the morning. For the first few hours he lay there, wincing with every breath and listening to the sound of his dad sleeping off his morning hangover in the next room.

By around eleven, hunger and thirst forced him out of bed. A vicious headache struck him as soon as he stood: he was dehydrated for sure. His bathrobe was on the back of the door. Trying to put it on was agony after a few attempts he managed to get both arms into the sleeves and eased it onto his shoulders. He paused while the muscles of his back stopped screaming at him, wiping the tears from his eyes, which gave him time to remember the aspirin by his bed. Slipping the bottle into his robe pocket, he shuffled out of his room and down the stairs.

The kitchen was empty, though the smoke from his mother's cigarettes still lingered in the air. He filled a glass with water from the tap and gulped it down so eagerly he almost choked on it. Fishing the aspirin from his pocket, he took some with a second glass of water and set the empty glass in the sink. He turned to the fridge and took two cans of soda while he looked inside for something to eat. Though it was mostly empty, he found some leftover pizza and shoved it into the microwave to heat up. He had no clue how long it had been there, but it would have to do – he didn't feel well enough to cook anything properly. Secretly, he had always loved cooking thanks to childhood 'lessons' with his _Nonno_, who was a great cook himself. What he wouldn't give to be back in their kitchen, or even their new one in Italy, right now. His grandparents always knew what to do...

Feeling his eyes well up, Ace rubbed them quickly. He had cried enough today. Taking his warmed up pizza, he tucked the cans under his arm and crept back up to his room. He could hear that his dad was still deep in his hangover-laced stupor as he crept back into his room. From the looks of things in the kitchen, his mother had gone out to the store, and dad had only brought home booze again.

Shrugging off his bathrobe and gingerly climbing back into bed, Ace offered up a silent vow to any listening god that he would never touch a drop of booze himself. He'd always looked up to his father, the way any only son should do, but rapidly approaching adulthood was making him re-think this. His _Nonno_ – his father's own father – had been a brilliant role model for Ace as a child: kind, strong and deeply devoted to family. _Nonno_ was partial to the odd drink, but _he _had never come home too drunk to take care of himself. _He _had never prioritised buying booze over food for his family, and _he_ had never, _ever_ come home and beaten his wife.

Granted, that might also have been down to the fact that _Nonna_ would have fought back if he did and probably dealt more damage, but that wasn't the point. The point was, Ace never wanted to end up dependent on alcohol like his father was. God only knew what he would have done to Snake the day before if he had been...

The memory of yesterday, his shameful near-rape of Snake and immediate near-murder by HIM – who was Snake's fucking _boyfriend_ – caused him to curl up and shudder. He was under no illusions that it was only Snake's last-second intervention that had saved him from being murdered, nor was he under any illusions that he'd had any rights to expect that. Even thinking about the things he had tried to do to Snake made him feel sick! Suddenly, his appetite vanished, but he reached out and took one of the slices from the plate and taking a bite.

_Ugh!_

As he had feared, the pizza was a few days old _and_ from the crappy pizzeria down the street! Dad must have gone there when he was wasted. Ace was adding _that_ to the list of reasons why he was never touching booze! But he was hungry, so he ate the pizza regardless of its taste. It made him miss his grandparents a little – they always had good food in the house and always had time for him.

Once he had finished the crappy meal, he carefully sat up and opened a soda. The food in his belly and the aspirin had done wonders with his headache,which seemed to lessen even as the sugary drink trickled down his throat. If his back wasn't so sore, he would have felt fine.

He wasn't sure what to do next. Sure, Arturo, Billy and Grubber had been quick to help him after he got his ass beat by HIM, but he knew that they had all been angry at his treatment of Snake – over the past few days as well as yesterday. As for Snake...well, he was fairly certain _he_ would never talk to him again. Not to mention that HIM would probably tear him to pieces if he were to try.

And yet...he _needed_ to talk to Snake, even if it were for the last time. What he had done...the things he had said...they...they weren't...they weren't _him_!

He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes with a groan. He couldn't find the words for it, but he hadn't been himself when he tried to rape Snake. Something, or some_one_, had been steering him!

He groaned, resting his cheek against his raised knees.

_How the fuck am I going to explain it though?_

He knew he wasn't the best educated: Grubber, Snake and possibly Arturo were all better in that regard than he was. But that was down to colossal laziness on his part – he wasn't _stupid_! Even if Snake did decide to speak to him again, if he were willing to hear what Ace had to say and _if_ Ace were able to actually make sense of what he wanted to say...Snake would laugh in his face! Everyone knew you couldn't force someone to put their cock in another human being when they weren't in the same room, or force them into saying things they didn't want to! Even _Billy_ wouldn't believe him.

But, somehow, he had to convince Snake. The alternative...that he was a rapist who would beat his victims when they refused...that was something he couldn't stand the thought of! Snake was too important to him!

He really was! Ace would have laughed at the thought when the two first met, but it was true and not just because of the sex. Snake had become more than just his second in command, more than just a friend for both him and the gang. He was a part of their – part of _Ace's_ – makeshift family, someone who they cared about. Yet now they were facing the possibility of losing him forever...and they would all know who was to blame...

His mother finally came up to his room a couple of hours later. Not bothering to knock, she opened the door and regarded him critically.

"Ya feelin' better?" She asked, wrinkling her nose at the cans and plate on his bedside table. "Guess ya found somethin' ta eat too, huh?"

Grateful that he were covered up by the blanket, Ace pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Uh-huh." He managed. "I'm feelin' a little better, I think."

She nodded and took a long drag from her cigarette.

"Good." She replied, then turned to leave. "I'm makin' some coffee, if ya want some. Bring the crap downstairs with the plate."

Cigarettes had long since burned away his mother's sense of taste, so to counter it her coffee was so strong that you could almost chew it. Ace added three spoons of sugar to his cup, which only made it slightly more palatable. Sitting opposite him, his mother stubbed out her cigarette and narrowed her eyes over her own steaming cup of sludge.

"So," she said at length, "what'd ya get inta a fight about?"

"Huh?"

"Last night! Ya come home bloodied n beat up all tha time n ya shrug it off like nothin,'" she paused to light another cigarette, "then ya come home last night like somethin' put the fear of God in ya and lookin' like ya was gonna drop dead any second even though ya didn't have a mark on ya. What the hell did ya start fightin over?"

Ace dropped his head and took a sip from his cup, thinking about what he should say that his mother wouldn't sniff out for a lie. Then, it came to him.

"It was over a girl." He replied. His mother frowned at him.

"A girl?" She sounded incredulous, but didn't say any more.

"Uh, yeah. I had dis thing with her – not serious or nothin – and she started seein some other guy who didn't like me hangin round her much. Last night he made sure I knew dat in person, ya know?"

"Didn't ya fight back?" Ace grimaced at her, not wanting to risk a shrug.

"He caught me off guard, and he's stronger than me." He replied.

"So who's dis little bitch yous were both fightin over?"

Ace swallowed, hoping he was remembering this right.

"It was Snake..."

"Dat scrawny little Asian chick yous hang out with?"

Ace sighed inwardly: he'd remembered right.

"Yeah, her."

She snorted out her cigarette smoke.

"Didn't think dat gawky thing would be able ta bag herself a man, ta be honest." She snickered. "I don't get what ya saw in her anyways, ta get in a fight over her."

"It's a matter of pride, Sofia."

His mother tensed and Ace turned to see his father looming at the kitchen door, a mostly empty bottle of whiskey in his hand.

"He's a _Copular,_ we don't just stand aside n let some punk take what's ours."

"Oh, hey Papa." Ace tried to act nonchalant as his father passed him. "I thought yous were asleep."

"Yeah, I was. But dis _bitch's_ voice-" he punctuated the word _bitch_ with a casual slap to the side of his wife's head "is enough ta drag ya outta a fuckin' coma."

Ace felt his stomach twist as his mother's head was knocked to the side by the impact, but she barely made a squeak. He couldn't suppress the mental comparison to the way he treated Snake and felt sick at the realisation.

_How did I ever think that was okay?_

His mother, however, simply straightened up and brushed the hair from her face before glaring at her husband with an evil grin.

"Aww, baby, yous say da _sweetest_ things."

"Don't test me, Sofia." His father set the bottle down on the counter before turning and pointing a meaty finger in his son's direction. "The boy bein' home ain't gonna save ya if yous test me."

He lifted the coffee pot and grimaced at its contents.

"When are ya gonna learn ta make coffee people can _drink_?" He grumbled, abandoning it and pouring the remains of his bottle into two tumblers. Picking them up, he turned his attention to his son.

"So, ya got in a fight?" He asked, setting the glasses down and pushing one in front of Ace. Ace glanced up at him and nodded.

"Ya win?"

Ace sighed, and shook his head.

"No, Papa." He said quietly.

His father regarded him briefly, then grunted.

"Can't win 'em all, boy." He conceded, crossing to the liquor cabinet behind Ace.

"An' this fight was over dat little Chink girl ya hang out with?"

"She ain't _Chinese_, Papa, she's _Japanese_."

_Thwack!_

Ace squeaked as his father's hand slapped him across the back of the head. He didn't resist as his head was forced towards his father.

"You don't smart-mouth me, boy." The older man's voice was low, dangerous, but he released Ace's head and returned to his seat.

"Dat's just wat Snake always says." Ace grumbled, rubbing his head gingerly.

"What a woman says don't matter nothin' ta a man, Ace." His father sat down heavily. "They're all the same from over there anyhow. It don't matter what she is: it's what she's doin' to _you_ dat matters."

He pushed one of the two tumblers towards Ace.

"Drink that boy – it'll do ya good."

Ace eyed the amber fluid cautiously. He opened his mouth to protest, then shut it when his father glared at him and pulled the glass closer.

"And don't yous _sip_ it like yer a fuckin school-girl neither." His father snapped. "You'll be eighteen in a few months – dat'd make ya a man in a proper country – so yous need ta start drinkin like a man."

Nodding miserably, Ace lifted the glass to his lips and sniffed at the whiskey. Even the smell of it made him feel sick! Inwardly counting to three, he quickly knocked the drink back as quickly as it would go. He set the glass down, bringing the other hand to his lips as the whiskey burned his throat.

_Please don't let me puke...he'll go _crazy_ if I puke again!_

Fortunately, after a few breaths, the nausea and burning subsided and he was rewarded with a nod and grunt.

"So...I'm gonna guess you've been fuckin dis Snake girl before she went sniffin round other guys, yeah?"

Ace's cheeks flushed crimson. He bowed his head and nodded quickly.

"Coupla times." He muttered.

He could smell the whiskey as his father leaned closer.

"Yous can do a lot better den dat little Chink freak – have some fuckin _pride_!" He hissed, leaning back to refill his tumbler. As he set the bottle down, he seemed amused.

"Course...if her tits were as big as her teeth, I'd _completely_ understand!" He leered as his wife laughed with him.

"She wouldn't be able ta _stand_!" His mother sneered, lighting up another cigarette as the two laughed at the thought.

Ace kept his head down, not trusting himself to keep his expression neutral. Less than a fortnight ago, his father's remark would have had him laughing as well, but now he just felt disgusted.

_Snake...I'm really sorry..._

"Okay, okay. So yous were fuckin her, then out of the blue she sets some bigger guy on ya?"

Ace shook his head.

"N-not exactly...she told me she had a date, n that she was still seein' him..."

His father looked surprised.

"An' yous just _accepted_ dat?"

"Wh-why wouldn't I?" Ace hated how timid his voice sounded.

"She's in _your_ gang and _yous_ were fuckin her! Little whore was _yours_, boy – she ain't got no right to let anyone else put his hands on her unless you say so!"

"I-I don't think they _had_..." Ace mumbled.

"Don't be such an _ass_!" His father snapped. "She's a _Chink_ – she'll have spread 'em first chance she got on instinct! Why do ya think dey do so much porn? Yous were soft on her and she's played ya for it. S'what ya get fer showin weakness."

_No! No! Snake ain't like dat, it wasn't like dat..._

_Was it?_

It was all Ace could do to nod his head and hope the tears didn't fall.

"Best thing is to forget the little whore." He heard his father say. "She's outta yer hair now – let the guy she's fuckin deal with her. She's his problem, so make sure she ain't yours from now on."

"Probably gonna wind up dead or in a whorehouse within a year." His mother added, earning a nod of agreement from his father. "Girls like her always do when they start messin' about with guys."

Ace wanted to protest, to _insist_ Snake wasn't like that and that it had been his fault. Hell, his father would probably fucking _approve_ of him trying to rape Snake, if the way he had been speaking today were any judge...

But he couldn't even lift his head to look at them. Arturo said talking things through with his parents always made him feel better, but Ace just felt _sick_ after listening to his! He just stared at his hands, clenching them so tightly his nails bit into his palms.

"Ah, fer fuck's sake!" His father slammed his tumbler on the table, making Ace look up. "If yer gonna sit around mopin yous can do it in yer room!"

Carefully, Ace got up from the table and made to move upstairs. His mother grabbed his arm as he passed.

"Ya used a rubber with her, right?" She hissed at him. Ace nodded at her dumbly before passing her and climbing up the stairs. As he crossed the landing to his room, he heard his father speak.

"Even Ace ain't _dat_ fuckin' stupid, Sofia!"

He didn't go back downstairs until his father had left, then went down to get something to eat. He found his mother in an armchair, diligently working her way through a pack of cigarettes as she watched TV. She looked up at him, but said nothing as he walked into the kitchen. Ace looked through the cupboards and was relieved to see that there were a few cans of tomatoes and some pasta. As he set the water on to boil, he heard his mother call to him.

"Ya cookin' somethin' fer dinner?"

"Yeah, Mama. Yous want some?"

He knew the answer, could see his mother's lips pursing before she answered.

"Yeah, I might eat a bit." She called back. "Make sure ya put some aside for yer Papa too."

Ace measured out some more pasta.

"I will, Mama." He replied, before working on the sauce.

To his surprise, when he had done serving up, his mother was sitting down at the table. He tried not to wince as she coated the dish with pepper before she'd tasted it or even added any cheese, her tastebuds long burned into uselessness by her smoking. She studied him as he sat down with his own dinner, waiting for him to start eating before she spoke.

"Yer Papa was only tryin to help ya earlier, ya know." She said. "I know he ain't good at it, but it was what he was doin."

"I know, Mama." Ace said softly, stirring the cheese into his pasta.

"Good." She replied, pausing to take a mouthful. "Thing is, the Copular family name means somethin in Townsville..."

_Only because of Nonna._ Ace thought ruefully, but let her continue.

"So yeah, yous gotta think about what ya do and how it'll make us look." She jabbed her fork in his direction. "Yer Papa has done a lot ta keep this family respected, an yous need ta do the same. It's bad enough ya hang out with the big retard, dat zombie freakshow with the eyes and dat _disgustin'_ beaner munchkin -"

Ace focussed on his pasta, trying to ignore his mother's racist rant. He knew his mother and Arturo's hated one another, though Maria de la Guerra had never extended this hatred onto Ace in all the years he had known her. Trying to stand up for Arturo never ended well, so he let her continue.

"...I mean, people would understand if she were _pretty_, but she's not. Besides, she'd have a better figure if she were a _boy! _People just won't overlook the fact a _Copular_ was fucked around by something like her."

Ace found he was struggling to keep his appetite, but ploughed on regardless. His mother wasn't the type to be off-put by her son's discomfort.

"...yous would just be too ashamed to show ya face, if people found out..."

"I get it, Ma." He muttered. "S'not like I'm gonna be seein' much of Snake now anyways."

His mother frowned at him.

"Pity yer not gonna stop seein so much of the other three freaks along wit her." She sneered. "Ya'd find things a lot easer if ya did."

"I _said_ I get it, Ma!" Ace snapped, glancing up at his mother angrily. She rolled her eyes at him and returned to her meal without further response.

"How is it?" Ace looked up at her after a few moments of silence. She chewed for a second longer, then swallowed loudly.

"Ya know I can't taste nothin,' Ace." She replied.

The next morning, when his mother had left to go to the store and his father was sleeping off his hangover, Ace opened the door to find Lil Arturo waiting for him.

"You not even dressed yet?" He looked Ace up and down as he stepped through the door without waiting for an invitation. Ace flushed, looking down at his bathrobe.

"I was just getting' dressed when yous knocked." He replied, lowering his voice. "What're yous even doin' here? Ya know my Ma hates ya, and my Pa's asleep upstairs – yous know what he's like if he gets woke up!"

Arturo looked from him to the stairs. As Ace's oldest friend, Arturo was the only one who knew just how frightened Ace was by his father – and knew it was justified! The others had only heard what Ace told them – which bordered on hero-worship. It was something the two childhood friends would often disagree on.

"Ehh," Arturo shrugged, "S'not like I was plannin' on stayin' long anyhow. I jus wanted to see if you was ok." He gave Ace a reproachful look. "Yous didn't answer my messages, so when I saw your Ma leave I came over."

Ace frowned, then gestured for Arturo to follow him up to his room.

"My cell's in my jacket." He murmured as he closed the door. Picking up his jacket, he fished the phone out of his pocket.

"Huh, I think the battery ran out...oh, no it ain't..."

The phone came to life when he pressed the power button, revealing it had three bars of battery left. As he turned it to show Arturo the screen, it vibrated and displayed that he had several messages pending.

"I guess it musta switched off when yous hit de car." Arturo guessed.

"Uh-huh." Ace looked through the texts. He had four: three from Arturo and one from Grubber.

"None from Snake though..." he sighed.

Arturo gave him an incredulous look.

"Ace...did yous honestly think _Snake_ would wanna talk to yous after what you...after what happened?"

Ace bit his lip, knowing his friend was right. Of all the people he could expect to text him, Snake wouldn't even make the list. It would be more likely that his _Nonna_ would text him from Italy first.

"I guess not." He replied, reaching up to wipe his eyes. "I just...I...it sounds crazy, Arturo but...it wasn't me dat tried ta rape Snake."

"It sure _looked_ like yous, Ace..."

To his credit, Arturo didn't laugh at him, but he was clearly unconvinced.

"I-I know, it was _me_ dat did it, sure..." he paused, trying to think of what to say next. "But... I didn't...it wasn't...it wasn't _me_ in control when I did it. One minute we were on da couch drinkin soda, then he was on the floor..."

Arturo looked at him for a few seconds, clearly thinking about what to say.

"It makes no sense, Ace, but...I believe yous." He said. "But I've known yous for years. I don't think Snake is gonna buy it, though."

Ace's shoulders slumped.

"I know..." he looked down at his friend. "Have...have _yous_ heard from Snake at all?"

Arturo nodded.

"_Si._ He replied. "He text me back this morning. He's...been with his...with _HIM_ since he left us the other day."

Ace swallowed before he responded.

"Guess dat makes sense." His voice sounded tiny. "Did...did he say anything else?"

"He said he's okay, just...shaken up. He was sorry that we found out who he was datin' the way we did, and...he hoped yous wasn't too badly hurt."

Ace looked up in surprise.

"He..he did?"

"_Si_. I don't think he expected HIM to fling you around so bad...probably not at all."

Ace sat down on the bed with a sigh.

"Ain't like I didn't deserve it." He replied, bending down to pick up his pants. "I suppose I'd better finish getting dressed – I need ta get outta here."

They both listened as Ace's father gave out a loud, drawn-out snore.

"Can't say I blame yous." Arturo replied, before gaping at Ace's back. "_Dios mio!_"

Ace paused in the act of pulling on his sweater, turning to face his friend.

"What's wrong, Arturo?"

"Your back...it's all one big bruise! No wonder yous could hardly walk the other day – you're lucky it wasn't broken."

Ace winced, pulling the shirt over his torso.

"Yeah, I guess so." He grabbed his jacket. "C'mon, let's get outta here before Ma gets home and finds ya."

They met up with Big Billy and Grubber at the hideout. Grubber had examined Ace's bruises, also remarking about how lucky he was not to have broken his back.

Ace decided they should go to the arcade – he was still too shaken and his back was starting to ache. As there were no protests, they set out from the hideout.

They were only a few blocks away from the arcade when they saw Belinda leaving the clothes shop next door. Despite Ace's hopes, she turned and started walking towards them. He could feel the others tense as she got closer, her attention on a list in her hand. She seemed cheerful as she folded the list into the back pocket of her shorts, but when her eyes fell on the gang her expression froze, then turned thunderous when they stopped at Ace. As one, the gang stopped, trying to look in any direction but at her. She stopped, mid-step, for a moment, her gaze fixed on Ace.

"Yousss..." Her voice came out as a low hiss, her tongue flickering out in a way so reminiscent of her brother that Ace felt a twinge in his stomach.

_Of course he would have told her..._

He didn't try and defend himself – there was no point – when she stormed up to him and slapped him hard across the face.

"You _bassstard!_" She shrieked. "Everything my brother'sss done for youssss and you try to _rape_ himssss?!"

"It wasn't like dat." Ace muttered. "It wasn't...I didn't..."

"_Don't even _trysss_ to lie to messs._" She lunged forward, fists raised, but Big Billy stepped forward and caught her before she could land a blow.

"Get offss messs!" She struggled in the cyclops' grip for a few moments.

"Duh...please stop, Miss Belinda." Billy pleaded, trying to position his hands as respectfully as he could around the wriggling form. As it became clear that she wasn't going to be able to escape Billy's grip, she stopped struggling and glared at Ace hatefully.

"HIM sshould have broken both your armsss..." Her voice was low, but they were all close enough to hear her. They all gaped at her in disbelief.

"Youss...youss _knew_ Snake was dating HIM?" Ace managed. Belinda snorted.

"Whoss do you think introduccced them?" She growled.

For a moment, Ace could do nothing but stare at her as he remembered Snake telling him that Belinda had set him up on that first date...

"Ehh, you do know _who_ HIM is, right Belinda?" Arturo piped up, distracting her from her glares. She turned to look at him.

"Of course I do – he's a good friend of mine! Not to mention a much better boyfriend to my brother than _he_" she flashed a glance in Ace's direction "could ever have been."

This was too much for Ace.

"He's a fuckin' _psycho_, ya crazy bitch!" He snapped, regretting it instantly when Belinda sneered at him.

"Yet since they started dating, Sanford has been happier than he ever was when he was moping after _you!_ HIM treats my brother the way he _deserves_, and you couldn't stand it that he was happy without you, could you?"

Her arms crossed under her chest, cocking her head.

"I saw through you, even if my brother couldn't. You wanted Sanford to be on stand-by, for those times that you couldn't find a girl stupid enough to screw you..."

Ace opened his mouth to protest, to scream that she was wrong...but he realised that he couldn't...

...she was right...

"It didn't matter to you what you were doing to him, not if you were getting what you wanted, and if you weren't you would just abuse him till you did. So when he actually got a boyfriend who treated him properly, you thought you could just do the same thing as you always had to get him back. But it won't work, Copular! My brother finally saw you for what you really are the day before yesterday, so you're never going to get near him again!"

Ace's head had hung down while she was talking, but he looked up at her now.

"An' yer just _lovin'_ dat, ain't ya?"

He tried not to cringe at the tremor in his voice. Before him, Belinda's smirk froze for a split-second and she seemed to regard him for a little longer. But then she shrugged, and pushed past them to continue down the street.

"My brother is _happy_, Copular." She said softly. "So yeah, I'm happy too. That's all I ever wanted for him. See you guys later."

Unbelievably, she waved to the others with an apologetic glance before walking away. She left Ace and the gang in a deafening cloud of silence. Nobody knew what to say.

Deep down, Ace felt _sick_ with embarrassment at the encounter. Even a week ago, he would have laughed off anything Belinda said to him, but today her words had cut more than he could have ever managed.

"C'mon yous guys." He said softly, turning back to the arcade. "Let's go."

He'd lost Snake; today had proven that. He had nobody to blame but himself for it either - not in a way that people could believe, at least. He would just have to accept it...

...and hope that, one day, he'd be able to tell Snake that he was sorry.


	9. Chapter 9 - Snake - Friendships

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 9 – Snake – Friendships**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: Language, Sex References, hints at Underage Sex, Foreshadowing**_

Snake woke up in his own bed with a smile. The previous two nights with HIM had been wonderful and he couldn't wait for more, but they had been _exhausting_. He was still aching from their recent lovemaking even as his body craved the next session.

Taking a long, languid stretch, he glanced across at the clock and frowned – it was only 7am. Why was he awake this early?

He lay still, listening and trying to determine if something had woken him. He heard the sound of the shower in his mother's en-suite, and could hear her radio playing. She or Belinda must have accidentally pushed up the volume when cleaning it. Snake never cleaned the radio itself, only blowing away any accumulating dust. At least he knew why he was awake now.

He snuggled back under the covers with a contented sigh. Even though he missed having his lover in bed beside him, he was so happy. How he could have gone from miserable and lonely to this level of happiness in such a short time would have seemed impossible before he had gone on that first date. In HIM's deceptively slender arms, Snake felt safe, even _loved._

Now he was awake, he didn't feel like going back to sleep. Maybe he could make some tea and a coffee for his mother for when she came downstairs.

Throwing back the covers, he got out of bed and slipped into his bathrobe. As he passed the mirror on the landing, he ran his fingers through his sleep-tousled hair with a grumble, then padded down the stairs.

There was a little television set in the kitchen, which Snake switched on before filling the kettle and setting it to boil. Upstairs, he heard his mother moving around and smiled. She would be down soon enough. The television was broadcasting the latest news surrounding the upcoming national elections, which bored Snake, so he set to preparing the drinks.

He had barely finished pouring the boiling water into his cup when he heard his mother's slithering footsteps.

"Oh, Sssanford?" She looked surprised. "I thought you would ssstill be sssleeping. Did I wake youss?"

"I don't knowsss." Snake replied. His mother's nose twitched as she caught the scent of the coffee.

"Isss that for messs?" She asked, smiling as she was handed the cup of black coffee. "Oooh, you are a good boysss!"

Taking an appreciative sip, she set it down and began to prepare her breakfast.

"Do yousss want ssomething?" She asked, not looking round as Snake set his own tea opposite hers on the breakfast bar.

"No thankssss." He replied, taking careful sips from his cup. "I think I might go back to bedss for a while."

"Hmm, it'sss your sssummer, I sssupposse." His mother shrugged. "But youss will need to sstart thinking about college sssoon, you knowsss."

"I knowss I dosss." Snake replied, busying himself with his drink.

"Are youss sstill wanting to go to college over heresss, or go back homesss?"

Snake resisted the urge to roll his eyes – every time they talked about college, she asked the same question.

"I wantsss to sstay here for college, Mama." He was impressed by how normal his tone was. "There'ss no point me being here otherwissse."

_Except to ssstay with HIMsss..._

"I guesss ssso." She sat down across from him. "Have you decccided which collegesss you're going to look at? You need to sstart requessting prosspectussess next yearsss, but it'sss worth looking roundss."

"Blindie brought one of the Citysssville onesss from admisssionsss."

"And whatsss did youss think?"

He knew what she was thinking: he'd prefer Citysville so that he could go to college with his sister. It was a mindset that both parents had tried to talk him out of, because when they had moved here it had been _exactly_ what he had wanted to do. Then he had met Ace and he had wanted to stay close to his crush.

_But Ace can _fuck offsss_ for all I caresss now!_

"Isss...don't know yetsss. The courssse doessn't have much information heresss to go on. There'sss loadsss on the scienccce degreesss..."

"Time wasss Townsssville Universssity was ssstreetsss ahead of Citysssville for that." His mother smiled. "That'sss why I came heresss...and why I met your Tou-sssan."

In spite of the conversation subject, Snake couldn't help but smile. He could hear the warmth in his mother's voice at the mention of his father. In spite of living in different countries for over two years, it was clear she still loved him. It was a love that he had always wanted – one he had possibly found with HIM.

"Mama? Do you...miss Papa?"

He thought she took a little longer to answer than usual, and there was a tremor in her voice when she replied.

"All the time, darling." He was surprised by the honesty in her reply. "I thoughtsss it would get easssier, but it doesssn't. It isssn't foreverss though – onccce you've finisshed college, we can all go homesss together."

"Are we going back to visssit sssoon, before Blindie goess back to college?"

"I'm jussst waiting on Papa to tell messs when he hasss time free ssso I can book flightsss."

"Okaysss."

They sat quietly for a moment while she ate her breakfast. When she looked back up at him, he knew she had been thinking about whatever she was about to say for some time.

"Sssanford, about thisss new boyfriendss you've been sseeingsss?"

"Yesss, Mama?"

She paused for a moment, seeming to consider her words.

"You ssspent two nightsss before last night with him, am I rightss?"

"...yessss..."

"Did the two of youssss..."

Snake hoped he wasn't blushing too hard when he replied.

"Umm...yessss we didsss...but it wasss the firssst timesss!"

The look on his mother's face was difficult to read. She knew he wasn't a virgin – she had been the one to walk in on him with his first serious boyfriend, Dai Matsubara, the year before they had moved to America, and he had been certain she and his father would murder them both. From bitter experience, he knew what her next question would be...

"Are yousss usssing protection?"

"_Mama!_"

"Wellssss?"

"Yesss, Mama! We usssed condomsss...and wesss put a new onesss on every timesss." He added hurriedly. She nodded to herself, then seemed to return her attentions back to her breakfast.

"Goodss." She replied. "Sssanford, I knowsss I might sssound like a nagsss, but it'ssss importantsss that yousss ussse protectionsss – essspecially with a new partnerssss. Sssexually transssmitted disseasses are at a all-tie highssss."

"I knowsss, Mama." Snake replied softly. "I'm hardlysss gonna forgetsss, with a doctorss for a mothersss, am Isss?"

She smiled at him.

"I would hope ssso – I sssuppossse at leassst I don'tss have to worrysss about pregnancccy with youss, but thessse daysss that'sss the _bessst_ resssult."

She looked like she was about to say more, when an alarm sounded on her phone. Picking it up with one hand, she lifted her coffee with the other, draining its contents before getting up from her seat.

"Wellsss, I have to gosss to workss now." She said. "Remembersss what I sssaid, Sssanford."

"I'll make sssure we usssse protection, Mama!"

To his surprise, she laughed softly.

"I meantss aboutsss college, but that'sss good to knowss." She leaned over and kissed him on top of his head. "Will youss be home tonightsss?"

"I think ssso."

"Then I'll sssee you tonightsss." With that, she picked up her bag and coat before hurrying out of the door without another glance.

Snake didn't get back out of bed the second time until nearly eleven, but he felt none of the sluggishness that might suggest he had over-slept. This time, he decided to take a shower before he got dressed.

Sitting on the bed, he picked up his phone to find that Lil Arturo has messaged him. Though he knew the younger teen was Ace's oldest and best friend, back from the days when the two of them had been the only green kids in Townsville, he still tried to stay friendly with Snake. They had exchanged a few texts, with Arturo reassuring him that while bruised and battered, Ace was going to be just fine.

As far as Snake was concerned, his obligations to Ace were now ended.

He did hope that he could still be friends with Arturo, Billy, and Grubber. If nothing else, his Spanish had come on leaps and bounds since Arturo had started conversing with him – in return for teaching Arturo how to cuss in Japanese – and when he had learnt that Billy was somehow able to speak _Welsh_. His mother had been right – not just about the condoms – he needed to get back on track with his original plans and get into college to do his teacher training.

It had been the aim all the time – while Belinda studied to become a doctor, he would study to become a modern languages teacher, and they would all go back to Japan. He had talked to HIM about it extensively since they started dating, and Arturo, Billy, and Grubber all knew about it too. Only Ace hadn't known about it...and to think that Snake had briefly considered giving up his dreams to be with the guy!

HIM was different – he had been encouraging of Snake's dreams to teach, even going so far as to voice the opinion that Snake would make a good teacher. Being with HIM had shone a spotlight on Ace that showed him in his true colours. Why would Snake have ever been willing to settle for a boy like Ace Copular, when he could have a man like HIM?

All the same, he worried that the others might not spend time with him because of his falling out with Ace. He hoped not...but if they were, surely Arturo wouldn't have been texting him still? He opened the message.

+Ey. U up yet+

Smiling, Snake fired off a quick reply of his own.

+Yes just out of shower. What's up?+

The phone rang just as he set it down. Seeing it was Arturo, he answered quickly.

"Heyssss."

"Ey, _Serpiente_, yous ok?"

"I'm fine thanksss, Arturosss. Are yousss okaysss?"

"Ye, I'm good." He heard Arturo pause, clearly choosing his words with care. "So...you...home now, or..."

"Yesss, I've been homesss sssince yesssterdayss. HIMsss issn't with messs, if yousss were wonderingss."

He had to put his hand over his mouth to stifle his chuckle when Arturo audibly sighed with relief. When he spoke, he did a good job of sounding casual.

"Oh, dat's cool, _Serpiente, _I wasn't wonderin'or nothin.' I was just...eh...wonderin' if yous was still buddies with us, really."

Snake was taken aback. Moving his clothes out of the way, he sat down on the bed.

"Arturo...youss don't need to assssk thatsss – of courssse youss are sstill my friendss – Billy and Grubber toosss. What happenedsss didn't change thatsss – youss guysss sstood up for messs."

"Ey, don get all mushy on me!" It was clear that Arturo was relieved, but so too was the caution in his voice when he spoke again. "Listen, eh, I don wanna put yous in a spot about it, but...eh...will yous...still be hanging out with us?"

Snake's breath caught in his throat, even though he had been expecting the question.

"Arturo, Isss..."

"Hey, I get it if yous don't wanna be near Ace – we can find other times to hang out with yous if yous would rather, but...we're a great team and it won't be the same without yous. Ace won't be stupid enough to attack yous, not now he knows HIM's your man and all. We'll make sure he don't get near yous if yous want, besides he..."

"He whatsss?"

"_Serpiente..._I think he's really sorry about what he did-"

"He wasss 'really sssorry' beforess...then he tried to rape messs!"

"Hey, I don't blame yous for feelin like that. Shit, I think I was the same until I saw him afterwards. I won't never make excuses for Ace, you know me. But...he honestly looks like he don' understand what happened – he's scared that he did it!"

Snake sighed.

"Arturo, he's sssscared of what HIM will dosss to himss..."

"That too. Look, Snake, yous have every right to be mad at him, not matter what happens. Nobody's saying he didn't do it – he _did_! I still can't believe what I walked in on, but...I really think he's telling the truth."

Snake couldn't speak, suddenly worried that he was being led into some kind of revenge trap. But then again...they wouldn't want to risk HIM's wrath by hurting him. Arturo seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Seriously, we aren't stupid enough to try any crazy revenge plans. Apart from who you're dating, we just don't want to."

Snake bit his lip while Arturo continued.

"We'll meet somewhere public if it makes yous feel better. Just...hear him out. Then we'll go with whatever yous wanna do."

Snake took a deep breath. With HIM able to protect him, he didn't have anything to lose, and now curiosity was eating at him.

"Okaysss, I'll comesss."


	10. Chapter 10 - Ace - Public Rejection

**Fandom:** The PowerPuff Girls (original version – 2002 designs)

**Rating: **Adult

**Genre:** Romance

**Pairing(s):** HIMxSnake, AcexSnake

**Warnings: **Slash, MxM, explicit sex, violence, rape, domestic abuse, language, Original Characters, mention of PPGZ characters (Znake, Ivy)

**Summary: **After getting tired of Ace's Not-Quite-Friends-With-Benefits and other abuses, Snake agrees to go on a date with his older sister's friend. The trouble is, her friend is none other than His Infernal Majesty – otherwise known as HIM. Is Snake jumping from bad to worse, and just how is Ace going to react when he finds out?

**Disclaimer:** The characters within this story are the creative property of Craig McCracken, with the exceptions of Belinda Ingleberry and Dr Hitomi Ingleberry, who remain my own characters, and Znake and Ivy, who are male/female versions of the same character, and are the property of the PPGZ creators. The idea to separate them as twin siblings is my personal headcanon.

**Chapter 10 – Ace – Public Rejection**

_**Chapter-Specific Warnings: Language, racial slur, Violence, M/M, suggestive language**_

_***Additional note: The term Koishii Hito is the closest Japanese translation that I could find to a term of endearment, meaning "beloved," "my darling," or "my dear." From what little I know of the Japanese language, they do not seem to share the same use of pet names as in other countries, but I wanted Snake to give HIM a Japanese one. I apologise if this is inaccurate and causes offense to any readers, as this was not intentional in any way.**_

Ace wished he had brought more than a can of soda; his throat felt like sandpaper and he didn't have any spit to help ease it. Gum would have been a good idea too, but he had been so nervous when he left his house that he hadn't thought to pick any up until it was too late.

He could hardly believe that Snake had agreed to meet up with them. When Arturo had suggested the idea, he had doubted that Snake would even pick up the phone! Yet here he was, stood outside the arcade and waiting to try and explain himself to the boy he had tried to rape half a week before.

As if on cue, the muscles of his back began to twinge in accusation. It was a lot better than before, but he knew he had a long way to go before he could call himself healed from the injury. He'd managed to take a glance at his back earlier that day; he looked like he'd landed in ink! Sleeping had been a problem until he had started to lay on his side, so that was something.

They were also near the pizzeria on the strip, where they had gone after he and Snake had fucked last - before HIM had asked him out. That had been three weeks ago, but to Ace it felt so far away from now that it might as well have been a different world. So much had changed..._he_ had changed, or at least resolved to after the horrifying wake-up calls he'd gotten over the last few days. He still felt uncomfortable about spending time with his parents, fearful that they would try and talk to him about Snake – or 'that Chink slut,' as they now called him – and get him upset in front of them. How it had taken him this long to realise how abusive they were? Maybe their behaviour had made him feel comfortable with his own, no matter how shitty he had been, and blinded him to it.

He could sense that with the others, even with Arturo – his oldest friend. Though Arturo, Billy, and Grubber had been sympathetic to the injuries he had sustained from HIM's attack, and seemed to universally agree that he had been lucky to escape with this life, it was clear they thought he was entirely to blame for it. If he had treated Snake better – hadn't treated him like a piece of meat that was on hold to satisfy his lusts – HIM would have had no reason to lay a claw on him.

They were right; he had no business in even considering trying to argue. Every stabbing pain, still brought on almost every time he moved, was like an accusation and stark reminder of his actions. He couldn't expect them to absolve him; he was amazed that they hadn't abandoned him outright. In the comparatively short time that Snake had been part of the gang, he had made an impact on the others that was much purer than anything Ace had initially felt. His own poor behaviour to Snake hadn't gone unnoticed as he had believed. It would be stupid for him to believe that they were here for him.

They were here to protect Snake, even Arturo. They had been trying to protect Snake from him for some time.

"Are ya sure he's comin'" He asked Arturo for the fourth time. The diminutive teenager rolled his visible eye at him.

"_Si_. He text me when he got to the subway station near his house."

"So...when was dat?"

He puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, but he still pulled out his phone and scrolled through his texts.

"Bout...twenty minutes ago?" He turned the phone so Ace could see the time. "He should be here soon."

"I'm right heressss."

Ace had been so focussed on reading the text message that he hadn't been watching the street. At the sound of Snake's voice, he visibly jumped. Luckily, Snake was already engulfed in one of Billy's hugs and didn't seem to have noticed.

"Billy missed Snake!" The giant boomed happily, swinging Snake around. Snake laughed as he was set down, but didn't look in Ace's direction. As he turned to speak to Grubber, Ace noticed a _very_ visible love-bite on Snake's neck, but there was no sign of the cut where his cheek had split.

In some ways, he felt insulted that the mark had gone so quickly, whereas the bruises on his back seemed to have gotten blacker and more painful. It made sense, given how much stronger HIM was, but it wasn't nice to see the proof so clearly.

While he had been moping, Snake was talking to Arturo but had made no move to come closer. As his eyes raised to look up, Ace found he couldn't meet them and glanced away. He could feel the gaze of all four upon him and he did not like it.

After what felt like an agonising length of time, he heard Snake speak.

"Wellsss?" His voice was cold, but not overly angry. He looked up to find Snake stood ten paces in front of him, hands on his hips and glaring coldly at him. His mouth was even drier than before and his mind went blank. He had been rehearsing what he wanted to say to Snake for days, but suddenly all his clever words and persuasive manner seemed to flee in the face of Snake's glare. He was terrified.

"Snake, I..." He licked his too-dry lips, trying desperately to find some moisture. "I-I didn't think you'd come..."

"Isss only camesss becaussse Arturo begged messs." Snake replied coolly. "Apparentlyss youss had sssomething yousss wanted to sssay to messs?"

"I...uh...yeah!" Ace stumbled over his words. "Yeah, I did. I-I wanted to...shit! Snake, I wanted to say I was sorry, and..."

He trailed off as Snake began to laugh.

"Oh reallysss? Lassst time yousss told me yousss were sssorry yousss tried to _rape_ me sssstraight afterss! What are yousss gonna try thisss time?"

Ace winced, and hung his head.

"I deserved dat, b-but Snake, I didn't mean to..."

"Try and rape messs?"

"Well..._obviously_?"

"Hmm...Ssso tell me, _boss_," Snake spat the last word out viciously, "when yousss had me on the couch and yousss were trying to pull my clothesss off and kisss messs, what were yousss actually _trying_ to dosss?"

"Well..I..."

"It'sss not asss if I wassssn't telling yousss I didn't wantssss to, and yousss knew I had a boyfriendsss even if yousss didn't know who he wassss."

"I know what it looked like, Snake, but.."

"I knowsss what it _feltsss_ likesss too!" Snake snapped, but then his expression turned sad. "Not jussst physsssically, eithersss."

Snake's eyes were shining; once again Ace found he had to look away.

"Iss knew yousss didn't _likess _me, Accce, not the waysss I liked yousss, but I _hopedss _that youss at leassst had sssome ressspect for messs and wouldsss ssstop dragging me off when yousss wanted a fuckss! Isss hoped that yousss calling me a whoresss when yousss found out I had a datess wass jussst a one-offsss and yousss would calm downsss."

"Well...I never actually called ya a _whore_, Snake...not the word, anyway..."

Snake frowned at him.

"Nosss, yousss didn't sssay the _word_ whoresss, but yousss made it more than clearsss that yousss had exsspeceted messs to be onesss for youss!"

"I...I never meant for you to feel dat way!"

"Oh, _reallyssss?_"

"No! I thought dat yous were just out ta fuck as well – honest I did."

"Or that sssuited you ssso much that yousss didn't ever consssider yousss might be wrong?"

This was too much for Ace to take, no matter how sorry he was. He glared at Snake.

"Well it wasn't like it ever occurred to ya to open yer stupid fuckin' mouth an _say_ something, was it, huh?"

He regretted the words as soon as he said them. Arturo, Billy, and Grubber had all turned to stare at him in disbelief, while Snake's jaw dropped in brief, stunned silence.

"I triedsss...but any timesss I sssaid sssomethingsss yousss didn't like...yousss _hit_ messs until I ssshut up!"

Ace's head dropped, shame burning his cheeks. He felt sick to his stomach as he heard the truth in Snake's words. He'd always shouted down the other three if they had ever said or done something he didn't like, but he had never raised a hand to them – he knew they would more than likely hit him back. But he had always slapped and punched Snake, sometimes without reason or provocation. Snake had never so much as frowned in protest – Ace had always assumed it was a Japanese thing, or that Snake even liked it. It had been so easy, like he had done it a thousand times before...

He hadn't, of course, but he had _seen_ it a thousand times back home. His father was always slapping or hitting his mother for some reason or other. But she always fought back – saying or doing something to at least _acknowledge _her beating. Snake had barely flinched, apart from their first time, when Ace hadn't used lube, and had even seemed to forget the beatings once they got down to business.

"Whaddaya want me ta say, Snake?" He cringed at the tremor in his voice.

"I don't knowsss – yousss were the one who wanted to talkssss to messs!" Snake retorted.

"Well, I dunno why I bothered, seein' as every time I open my fuckin' mouth yous either laugh at me or tell me I treated ya like shit-"

"_Dat's cos you DID, Ace!_"

They turned to see Arturo, his head lowered while his fingers rubbed at his temple in irritation.

"What de hell, Ace?" He hissed, glaring up at him. "Yesterday yous was all about showin' Snake how sorry yous was over how you treated him!"

"Oh, so I gotta stand here an take shit because he's actin' all high-an-mighty?"

"Acting _whatssss?!_"

Looking up, Ace saw Snake glaring at him in disbelief, arms pressed to his sides and clenched fists trembling. Part of him was screaming to shut up, but Ace's emotions had backed him into a corner and he couldn't stop.

"Yous heard me! Ya get yerself an all-powerful boyfriend and all of a sudden yous start mouthin' off at me like ya somethin' special or some shit? What-did he fuck a backbone into yous?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arturo bury his face into his hands.

"Ace...seriously...stop..." he muttered.

"Oh, nosss, Arturo – I wantsss to hear thissss!" Snake growled. "Isss thisss why you've been like thisss – becausssse I'm dating HIMssss? Or isss it becaussse I'm not sssso unbelievably _grateful_ to sssit around waiting for yousss to get _horny_ again and noticcce messss and decccidedss Isss desserved better?"

"Do ya honestly think he _loves_ yous, Snake?" Ace snapped. "Somebody like HIM? _Really?_"

"Whether he lovessss messs or notsss, he _still_ treatsss me better than yousss ever didsss!"

"Duhh, please stop arguing, you guys..." Big Billy's voice sounded so distressed, enough for Snake to turn and glance sadly at him. But Ace couldn't stop his next retort in time.

"Only while he still wants to fuck yous, Snake, then you'll be back to nothing with him."

Snake flashed a glare in Ace's direction, but his words were softer.

"If telling yoursself that makesss yousss feel bettersss, Accce..."

"The hell's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I meanss, Accce, thatsss Isss don't caress what yousss think about my boyfriend. He might not lovesss me, but what he doessss feel for mess at itsss worssst isss more than yousss ever did at your bessst!"

"_Dat aint true!_"

The ferocity of his shout was enough to startle everyone – Ace included – and his heart started beating so loudly that he could hardly hear his next words.

"Dat ain't true, Snake...I lo-"

With a herculean effort, he forced his jaws to shut on that traitorous sentence with widened, horrified eyes.

_I love yous..._

His hand, trembling with emotion, lifted to his mouth as though to feel if it were still his own. Had he really almost shouted that he _loved_ Snake?

Did he actually...

Snake's laughter broke him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Snake rubbing at his temple, shoulders still shaking with his sudden mirth.

"Da fuck's so funny?"

"Did yousss really thinksss _thatsss_ would worksss? You'd sssay 'I love yousss, Sssnake,' and Isss would runsss into your armsss?"

"I _wasn't_ gonna say I love ya!" Ace spluttered, feeling his cheeks burn so much that he was sure his face was glowing bright red.

"Ssso what _were_ yousss going to sssay? Becaussse I know what itsss _sssounded _likesss!"

"Yeah, well...since ya started dating HIM yous hear whatever ya want!"

"_Don't yousss keepss bringingsss my boyfriendssss into thisss!_" Snake shrieked. "It'sss not HIMsss who hasss the problemssss – it'ssss _youssss_!"

Later on, Ace would swear that he had felt as though his mouth had not been his own as he and Snake continued their furious back and forth, getting angrier with each exchange. It was as though a red mist had descended over the two, forcing out all the anger that had festered between them for so long. Neither he nor Snake would be able to remember, later on, the particulars of _what_ they had screamed at one another as much as the venom with which they said it. It had been as though something had taken over them both...

"The Ganggreen Gang? I might have known!"

Ace and Snake shut up immediately, and the gang turned as one to see the PowerPuff Girls floating in front of them. The speaker – Blossom, given her obvious love for hearing her own voice – was glaring down at them as though they had just been scraped off her shoe. To her left, Bubbles was peering at them with a look of concern, while Buttercup floated to her right, badly hiding the fact that she was trying not to laugh.

"P-Powerpuff Girls?" He backed a step away from the trio. "What do _yous_ want?"

"To tell you to _shut up!_" Blossom snapped. "We could hear you arguing halfway across the city!"

"And you were saying such _mean_ things..." Bubbles squeaked. Her sister snorted.

"Heh, yeah!" Grinning, Buttercup leaned towards Snake and affected a look of mock confusion. "Ummm, Snake? What's a cun-"

"_Buttercup!_"

Ace felt a little surprised to see Snake's hands fly to his mouth and eyes widen as Buttercup was quickly silenced by her sisters. Sure, he'd heard Snake mutter that word under his breath a couple of times, but he'd never heard him say it out loud! He tried to remember what they had been saying, but he...couldn't remember a word...just that he was so _angry!_

"Eh...no problem, girls." He managed an embarrassed smile. "We was just about done anyways...right, Snake?"

He glanced across at the serpentine teenager, hoping that Snake would just agree so that the girls would just up and _leave_!

But Snake flashed him a venomous look, lips twisted into a furious pout.

"Assss far asss I could ssssee, yousss were done asss sssoon assss you knewsss youss couldn't get your waysss!"

"_Fer fuck's sake, Snake!_"

Ace's hand raised as he shouted, but before he could even realise what he was doing he found himself flying through the air with the wind knocked right from his lungs. He landed heavily on his recovering back, screaming through gritted teeth as agony tore through the bruised flesh. With tears of agony coursing down his cheeks, he managed to prop himself up on his elbows in time to watch the girls deliver a similar punishment to Arturo Billy, and Grubber.

Snake was the only one still on his feet. Through his tears Ace watched him surveying the scene, looking horrified and as though he were coming out of a daze. Ace knew he must have had a similar look on his own face before he'd been flung on his back...had Snake suffered the same red mist that he had?

Suddenly, the girls turned and flew towards Snake with clear intent: he was going to be specifically punished for the argument too! Ace watched Snake start to cringe, but he didn't try to run – they honed in on running villains like sharks honed in on blood! Snake's head turned away from them, eyes squeezing shut, as he braced himself for impact...

But it never came.

A few feet away from Snake, the girls suddenly stopped dead in the air with a noise like a slamming door.

"Wh-what?" Blossom's eyes were darting around, though the rest of her was still.

"I-I can't move!" Buttercup shouted, visibly straining against whatever was holding her.

"What's going on?!" Bubbles wailed. "We're stuck!"

A red aura began to glow around them, causing Snake to smile.

"**Oh, I'm sorry, girls." **A familiar, sing-song voice echoed through the empty air. **"But I really must advise you _reconsider_ your current decision..."**

As they all watched, a cotton-candy pink cloud formed above Snake's head, from which a pair of claws lowered. Snake smiled as they wrapped around him, and laughed softly as he was lifted into the cloud. Ace felt his heart sink as he watched Snake disappear, knowing what would come next.

The cloud weaved around the struggling girls before raising higher into the air, leaving a trail in its wake. As it moved, they all heard a deep, almost sinister, laugh. Once it had gotten a distance from the girls, the cloud began to spin, getting faster until it dissolved to reveal HIM, carrying Snake in his arms like a bride. The demon seemed far more interested in the boy in his arms to notice them, but whatever hold he had on the girls was released. Unprepared, the three were propelled through the air, causing them all to cry out in surprise before they recovered their control and returned to their original spot. Upon seeing that they were unharmed, they turned towards their attacker...

HIM hadn't so much as glanced in their direction, nor had he looked anywhere beyond Snake, whose arms were wrapped around his neck.

"Oh, my poor little pet!" Ace heard him coo. "Did those little brats hurt you?"

Snake smiled softly, his eyes shining. "No, _Koissshii Hito*..._yousss ssaved messs."

Ace wanted to look away as they kissed, but his eyes were fixed as he watched Snake lean forward to press their lips together. HIM responded with clear enthusiasm – Ace saw his tongue gently coax Snake's lips apart, to which he saw no hint of protest. The sight was like a punch to the gut: it had hurt enough to know Snake was with HIM, but to see _proof_ of how happy he was...

"What the-?"

"Oh my!"

Ace was grateful for the interruption, finally able to tear his gaze away to look at the Powerpuff Girls. Buttercup hovered in the air as though trapped in mid-flight, shock clear on her face. Bubbled floated a little way behind her, hands raised over her mouth and eyes wide with surprise. Only Blossom seemed unaffected. She hovered a little ways from her sister, watching HIM and Snake with a suspicious glare.

"What's going on, HIM? Why are you helping the Ganggreen Gang?" She snapped.

HIM broke the kiss with a look of reluctance, and smiled condescendingly at the lead Powerpuff. In his arms, Snake looked at the girls with an embarrassed smile, but made no move to leave the embrace.

"Helping the Ganggreen Gang?" He chuckled. "Oh, my poor, confused little girl...I fear you flatter these _boys _far too highly if you think I would waste my time on the-shush, shush, my pet – I don't mean it unkindly..."

He paused in his words to soothe Snake, who had begun to protest in defence of the others, and kissed his forehead softly. Snake pouted at him, but seemed otherwise mollified by the reassurance, so HIM returned his attention to the girls.

"You see, I only came here to prevent an action that would have brought you a good deal of suffering. Truthfully, I have done you something of a favour."

"What do you mean?" Blossom snapped. HIM smiled at her.

"I would have thought it were obvious, but given that you don't seem to see that...Snake is my _lover_, child."

This revelation _did_ take Blossom by surprise! She stared at both of them, clearly speechless, while Buttercup stole a confused glance at Ace.

"You mean...Snake's your _boyfriend?_" Bubbles squeaked, finally lowering her hands to blink up at the demon.

"Well, given that the two words mean the same, more or less, then yes." HIM replied. "So now you know Snake is _mine_, you'll remember to be more careful in future, now won't you, my dears?"

"What do you mean by that?" Buttercup snapped, jabbing a stumpy arm in HIM's direction.

The demon's smile turned sinister, with his voice cooling to match.

"You're a bright girl when you try, Buttercup." He hissed menacingly. "I don't take kindly to those who mess with what's mine, regardless of who they are."

"Are you _threatening _us?!" Blossom moved into an attack stance, with her sisters quickly doing the same. HIM wrinkled his nose, ignoring Snake's worried looks.

"Of course not, child." He growled. "I'm _telling_ you! Cause any harm to Snake, to so much as a single scale on his body, and I will make your loved ones _suffer beyond imagining until they beg for death before your very eyes!"_

The force of HIM's rage was enough to propel the girls backwards, and even Ace had to cover his face with his arm to avoid getting any dust in his eyes. When he was finally able to look back up he saw Snake still nestled in HIM's arms, but there was concern on his face as he was having a murmured conversation with the demon. It seemed that whatever HIM was saying was convincing though, as Snake soon relaxed and kissed his lover softly.

Ace lowered his gaze with a sigh; this attempt at apologising to Snake had been nothing short of a disaster...

"I don't get it!" Ace looked up to see that Blossom had regained her composure and was glaring at HIM. "What could you possibly gain from dating _Snake?!_"

Despite his low mood, even Ace had to suppress a snort of laughter as HIM and Snake glanced at one another. When they looked back, HIM began with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Even if it were any of your business, I don't think it's any of your business what I gain from my personal relationships. All the same," he gazed hungrily at the teen in his arms, "I can assure you that I intend to gain a _lot_ more of it!"

Snake laughed at this, before looking up at HIM and nibbling his lower lip with an equally hungry look in his eyes. Without breaking eye contact, he let a hand drop from around HIM's neck to linger on his chest, the intent clear enough. There were not going to be any protests from that quarter, it seemed.

Blossom seemed to realise that a joke was being made at her expense and that she was missing something. She narrowed her eyes at HIM, but said nothing further. Without so much as a glance in her direction, HIM smirked and turned away, but not before locking eyes with Ace...

If he had been standing, Ace would have collapsed beneath HIM's gaze. Even laid out on the side walk, he felt his legs had turned to useless goo. The look of triumph in the demon's eyes, spiced heavily with loathing, was enough to strike fear into Ace's shattered heart and the message they carried was clear...

HIM's threat hadn't just been meant for the Powerpuff Girls.

He thought that the demon would say more, but HIM simply looked away to focus on his lover. Still carrying Snake in his arms, he lifted higher into the air before the two were vanished away in a cocoon of pink smoke.

Visibly confused, Blossom rounded on the gang, who were gathering around Ace.

"How long has that been going on?" She snapped, as though this were some master plan Ace had come up with. He let Big Billy help him to his feet, then shrugged.

"Coupla weeks, I think." he muttered.

"I think it's _cute!_" Bubbles squeaked, beaming innocently as Blossom's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"_Bubbles!_"

"Well, it is! I think they make a very cute couple."

Buttercup looked at Ace awkwardly.

"I dunno...I always thought _you_ were Snake's boyfriend..." She trailed off with what might have been embarrassment coming from anyone else. Ace didn't disguise his own regret and hung his head.

"Nah." He said softly. "I...never thought about it...like dat..."

His response seemed to surprise Buttercup, but he was in no way inclined to explain further to her even if he could find the words.

"So, how long has that been going on?" Blossom hovered in front of him.

"Coupla weeks." Arturo replied.

"As far as you know?"

Despite his flattened mood, Ace couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance at Blossom's assumption they weren't entirely sure. He risked a glance at Big Billy, knowing the intense contempt that he had held Blossom in since the incident in the subway. Sure enough, the cyclops was not doing very well at concealing his distaste. Most likely, thanks to the natural friendliness of his open face, his expression might look like discomfort – or indigestion – to the untrained eye...or to anyone who hadn't heard him speak about the pink PowerPuke. Ace's specific dislike of Buttercup was non-existent in comparison!

"Nah, Snake told us when he was goin' on a date, just not who with." He replied, giving Billy the distraction necessary to forget his irritation.

"You didn't know"

"We ain't _chicks, _Blossom! Guys don't talk about dat kinda romancin' stuff!"

Blossom seemed to dismiss that line of questioning, looking away from them with a _tch_ of annoyance.

"Well, I don't like it." She announced. "I don't understand just what HIM stands to gain from dating Snake!"

"Pffffthhppthtss?" (_"What does anyone gain from dating?"_) Grubber shrugged as he spluttered.

"No, that's too simple...he must be gaining something...but what?"

"Well, _I _sure don't know – why don't ya ask da Professor or somethin'?!"

Ace was certain that he had just earned himself a second beating when all three girls glowered at his outburst, but instead, they began to rise further into the air.

"Well, we aren't going to get any answers from here." Bubbles reasoned.

"A-and besides, they're not arguing or glowing any more." Buttercup agreed. Blossom nodded in agreement.

"You're both right. C'mon girls, we've got _real_ criminals to deal with!"

With that, they vanished into the evening sky. Ace paused.

"What'd she mean by '_glowing_' back den?"

He looked back at the others.

"She meant yous and _Serpentine_, Ace." Arturo replied.

"Duuhh...yeah. When you and Snake started saying all those _mean_ things you went all red and glowy..."

"Why didn't yous guys say somethin'?"

"Ace...we were trying to...but...I dunno...neither of yous were listening!"

"Pfffthptt pttthh ptpff..." (_"It was like you couldn't hear us..."_)

Ace blinked.

"No, I didn't hear any of yous..." he paused "...actually, I don't remember anythin' of what we said while we was arguin'..."

_Except for the part where I nearly said I loved him..._


End file.
